


Sweet Misery

by PyroQueenOfFire



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alpha Wolf Mates, Angry Sex, F/M, Mate sex, Mostly about Derek and OC wolves, Pack family situations, There are sexual situations in this story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-11-14
Updated: 2013-07-19
Packaged: 2017-11-18 15:15:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 26
Words: 102,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/562453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PyroQueenOfFire/pseuds/PyroQueenOfFire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Charlotte Graceland and Derek Hale have a unique bond that is just as much a hassle as it is a blessing. Mates are mates, but can two Alphas survive each other?; Derek/OC, Isaac Lahey/OC, Stiles/OC on the side</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. It's Just Sex

**Author's Note:**

> I own only my original characters and this toyed with mate idea

**Smut Warning in this chapter**

The problem with being a werewolf was that everything seemed heightened and even used to it, even the best werewolf could slip up at the worst of times and ruin everything they had worked so hard to build before. The problem with being Charlotte Aria Graceland was that not only was she a werewolf, but she was desperately emotional and it was for those reasons that she had been separated from her family in Beacon Hills—that and college. Unforeseen circumstances had brought her back though, working at the Beacon Hills hospital as an intern nurse while she worked on her nursing certificate, but neither she nor Sheriff Stilinski had told Stiles that his cousin was back in town for awhile.

Stiles had enough to worry about right now.

Right now, Charlotte was trying her hardest to just get through her day, but he was back and she could feel him and that was the problem—that had always been the damn problem. No matter what she did, she couldn’t shake him and that in itself hurt her more than she could ever admit to anyone and on top of that no one knew outside of her family. As far as anyone knew, the two were strangers and she wanted to keep it that way as long as possible even though she knew it was inevitable that their paths should cross at some point in time…especially after Scott McCall had been bitten by a werewolf. There was an Alpha running around trying to make a pack and Charlotte thought it was all far too stressful to become involved unless it put Stiles in danger and then she’d come to the rescue.

Still, that night, Charlotte was incredibly aware of her surroundings as she headed home from the hospital in her scrubs. While she was good at not being seen, she was even better at seeing and hearing what was going on around her and it made her want more than ever to just curl up in her bed at home. She was far more used to being a werewolf than anyone knew, including her family. Sheriff Stilinski hadn’t even known that his own sister had been turned all those years ago and even if he had, he never let on that he did. Then it was just like her to run off with a werewolf man and then have two little girls with him. Born a werewolf…this was something that Charlotte had been coping with her entire life.

This wasn’t a choice, it was just her life.

The wind picked up outside as the onslaught of rain poured down upon her, Charlotte cursing loudly under her breath as she fumbled with her keys and then got into her car, locking the doors quickly as her heart beat hard beneath her breast. Sure, she could take care of herself, but right now she just wanted to get home as quickly as possible, so she put the key in the ignition and turned the engine over, letting the windshield wipers come on and make that infernal squeaking sound as they pushed the sloshing water from one side of the glass to the other. Heading home, Charlotte turned on the radio and only just vaguely listened to the news before she switched to her favorite radio station and tried to calm down.

Part of dealing with this whole thing was having everything under control and with her volunteer work and her coursework, she didn’t have time for this Alpha hunt, but she had to do it. Not only did it keep Stiles safe, but it meant that her sister, Phasmi Marlo Graceland, wouldn’t get jumpy and shoot the gun like she did sometimes—it wasn’t like the Gracelands hadn’t turned people before, Phasmi turning one more than Charlotte had. At this point, no, Charlotte needed to get things under control, but when she got home, it was just her alone in the house and a sticky note on the fridge saying that her mother and younger sister were out getting some dinner and he had to know that—or he wouldn’t have shown up.

There was a history between them that neither of them could just ignore and it hurt Charlotte to admit that, but he had made his own bed and he could sleep in it. It didn’t stop her from opening up the door when he knocked, however, and just looking at him standing there with water dripping from him was enough to at least make lust ripple through her. Nothing was quite hotter than a fit man with a wet shirt clinging to his muscles as water rolled off of him. Besides, he was here for a reason and Charlotte just assumed that he had sensed her too and wanted to talk to her about this Alpha business and she didn’t want to see him…she would say she didn’t want to see him more than once.

“You’re an ass,” she managed to tell him before he was practically rushing at her.

She had told herself over and over again that she wasn’t going to take any of his nonsense, but when his lips crashed into hers, she felt him consume her like he normally did. The kiss was hard and determined, the door shutting behind him and while at first she wanted to lock the door, her mind was practically blank right now. All that mattered was the dark haired young man that was kissing her passionately, his chapped lips practically bruising her mouth with the needy kisses. It had been a while for them, but she still remembered every bit of his touch with every nerve in her body and when she felt his stubble on her neck she just crooned out, wanting more.

He picked her up with ease, smirking when her legs wrapped around his waist naturally, her fingers in his hair, nails on his scalp. They enjoyed giving into their inner animalistic nature and more than once they’d hurt the other doing this dance and right now mixed in with the want was anger and he knew he deserved every bit of her hostility toward him and he could take it. In fact he couldn’t stop the moan that escaped when she gripped his hair and tugged, her thighs tightening against him as he climbed the stairs in the house with her body in his arms, slamming her against the wall.

So much had been taken from him in his lifetime and he didn’t want to lose Charlotte too, but they were both doing different things and they were changing and he had to leave. He was back now and he wasn’t stupid enough to think that things were different, but their connection was stronger the closer that they were and he _had_ to see her. Besides, this was how things had started with them, being in the same class…being best friends until everything had blown up in their faces. Then that fateful meeting, those long nights—it was the happiest he had ever been and he had been a right ass to her before anything had happened between them.

He was cold and he was exact…it was how he got through it all.

Regardless of his tough exterior, she was the brightest part of his past and she was so patient with him up until she was just going to leave him to his own devices and _this_ had happened. It had changed everything…it had changed him…and then he’d chosen to throw it away and she had chosen to pretend that she didn’t care, but they knew it hadn’t been true. There was just so much going on and so much at stake and if only she could understand but this was going better than expected. She was letting him touch her, which was more than he could have asked for and all he wanted to do right now was devour her, his hands all over her body at this point.

She leaned her head back against the wall as his teeth found the flesh of her neck, Charlotte pushing on him and he thought it was all over until she pulled her scrub shirt off and then pulled him back to her, lips crushing against his feverishly. He heard her murmur a ‘please’, meaning she’d given into this whole idea and he just nodded, moaning into her mouth as she let her nails run along his muscled arms through the wet shirt, all the way down to the bottom of his shirt, his arms going up to let her pull it off of him, tossing it onto the floor and smiling a little at the squishing sound it made hitting the floor. Next she got his belt off and once down to their underwear, she put pressure on his shoulders and he helped her hop back up onto him, carrying her to her room.

He still remembered this house she’d lived in as a little girl and he was happy her old bedroom was her new bedroom, laying her down on the mattress before letting his head dip and explore. She arched against him as he let his lips trail along her skin, goose bumps left in the wake of his assaulting mouth, his hands getting her panties off expertly, mouth of her thighs. His heart sank a little as he could tell that she was biting her lip so hard to keep from saying his name and he deserved that…he did. However, the more he dragged this out, the more her brain would turn on and she would stop and she didn’t want to stop when they were this close, so she tugged on his hair again and he looked up at her, their eyes meeting and he nodded when her eyes said all they needed to, and he slipped back up her body, forehead against hers.

“Don’t drag this out,” she said shaking her head and kissing him chastely. “Just…”

Reaching over to her nightstand, she opened up the second drawer and rummaged her hand in it a moment before she pulled a condom out and held it up. She was smart because she knew about her parents’ past and because she had a genius IQ…that and it was only smart to make sure you had protection if you were going to engage in premarital sex. Nodding, he nuzzled her neck with his face as he took it from her, the prickly feel of it on her soft skin enough to send her senses into over drive and she turned her face, their eyes meeting. Those hazel eyes were going to be the death of her, she knew it, and yet she initiated this kiss and for a moment it was just gentle and loving like it had been in the past and he kissed her, opening up the condom and rolling it on as he focused on her tongue.

The moment he felt it teasing the corners of his mouth, he opened up his mouth and felt her slip her tongue inside to taste him. Their tongues fought for dominance as the kiss got more and more heated between them, Charlotte gasping loudly as he pushed in, flesh in flesh, him pulling back and smiling when she bit his chin. She was his when they were like this, and he still reveled in the fact that he was the only man to ever touch her like this…unless that had changed. No…if it had he would smell him on her and he hadn’t. He was going to continue to believe that he was the only one and they could get this back if they tried hard enough.

Charlotte was thinking just as much as he was and yet feeling him push in and pull out, stretching her out like that and stroking her from the inside out, was making her forget all of it. There was nothing that he could say right now, she was sure of it, that would make this feeling stop and her nails were digging into him, raking along his back, leaving marks that would just heal because that came with being a werewolf. Still, she cried out when he hit her spot, biting his shoulder hard and murmuring into him in garbled words even he couldn’t understand but he knew what it was—it was her trying desperately not to say his name because she was still mad at him.

Bringing her over the edge, he let out a cry of his own, feeling her teeth pierce his skin as her whole body hummed from the orgasm, the pain sending him right over too. There was nothing quite like feeling her tighten around him and yet that pain…they were good at the sex marks and the rough touching and it turned him on more than he was willing to admit. In fact he could remember plenty a pre-full moon adventure and so could she, licking his wound and then pressing a kiss to it in an apology she never uttered out loud. Gentle wasn’t their thing.

“Why’d you come?” She managed to ask him.

He chuckled and pulled back to look at her as she lay there against the pillows. “Because I couldn’t hold back any longer…”

“Shut up,” Charlotte said pushing on him, biting her lip when he slipped out and then lay on his back next to her laughing. “You’re not funny…”

“I have my reasons for coming back and you know the most pressing one,” he told her gently, both of them slipping into silence as his laughs subsided.

Charlotte nodded slowly. “I guess I understand but I just…never mind.”

He knew that she wanted to know why he never wanted to come back for her, but at the same time he knew that she really did understand regardless of what they were to each other. She sat up though, turning to swing her feet over the side of the bed and he kind of wished he’d gotten that bra off, but she had started to over think and this wouldn’t have happened had he dragged anything out any longer. Regardless of the feelings swirling around in her stomach, she knew this couldn’t happen again and started getting dressed because it was time for him to go back to wherever it was that he was going to stay while he was here.

Glancing at him as she pulled on fresh underwear, she made up her mind. “This changes nothing.”

“It was just sex, Ar,” he lied quickly.

A fresh hurt settled in and she felt her whole body tighten up and a dull pain set in all over as she just nodded at that and he knew he’d hurt her. He could tell and he got up to get dressed back in his wet clothes, Charlotte having nothing else to say to him for fear her voice would crack and she would cry. She hadn’t been expecting the kiss he blind sighted her with when he left, and she cursed loudly when he left back into the rain and she locked the door behind him. Then she went up to adjoining bathroom that she shared with her sister as both of their rooms opened up into it, and she took a shower…a long shower and scrubbed herself practically raw before going down to greet her mother and her sister when she heard the door.

“No amount of soap in the world could wash Derek Hale’s scent off of you,” Phasmi laughed as she handed her sister a box that had pasta inside. “Leftovers…”

Charlotte sighed and then raised her eyebrows. “Well, how very thoughtful…”

“How very sarcastic,” Phasmi responded, looking to Charlotte as her mother did. “So are we going to hunt an Alpha or not? I assume Derek is only back to hunt this Alpha, right? Unless this has to do with Laura…”

“We didn’t talk much…” Charlotte admitted with flushed cheeks, her mother sighing loudly. “I know, Mom, I know. You said that you and Dad—”

“—your father and I were reckless,” Mrs. Graceland explained shaking her head. “Look how well that turned out. Just…come into the basement and we’ll start training.”


	2. Mates

Charlotte knew her eyes were flashing when she and her sister were sparing in the basement that morning, the cement floor cold under her bare feet. The rush of the air as fists and open palms flew through it was like music to Charlotte's ears even though it reminded her of Derek but that was nothing new: everything reminded her of Derek Hale and his stupid face and his stupid biceps. There was just so much that she wanted to say to him and so much anger she wanted to let off of her chest that had been tainted by opening up her legs to him the other night.

_"You are such a pain in the ass!" Charlotte said venomously._

_Derek just narrowed his eyes at her. "I didn't ask you to be here, you know…"_

_"No, but I am here and so you need to grow some balls and suck it up, okay?" Charlotte asked him shaking her head. "I know that the little boy I used to know as a little girl isn't in there anymore, but the least you could do is respect your elders."_

_"You're not even a year older," Derek responded rolling his eyes. "I wouldn't call that 'elder'."_

_"I didn't mean age," Charlotte replied quickly. "I meant as far as controlling my abilities goes."_

_Derek scoffed at that. "I am just as good as you are."_

_His condescending look turned to that of anger as she burst out laughing, ignoring that slight pleasant churning at the sound of her voice echoing like that. Derek had always had feelings for Charlotte—it was the only reason that he kept apologizing so much, because he didn't want to have to lose her again like he had when they were ten. Just like that he was going for her, but she was quick with her reflexes, as she had always taken great pride in being a wolf and had honed her skills to their utmost potential, which Derek was quickly realizing as they started to spar, his hazel eyes burning into her blue ones._

"Ri, FOCUS!" Phasmi yelled at her and she punched her hard in the shoulder.

"OW!" Charlotte exclaimed, sighing loudly. "Sorry, Mars…"

Phasmi sighed loudly and shook her head. "Ever since Derek has been back, you have been the most scatterbrained I have ever seen you."

"I just feel gross and guilty inside," Charlotte admitted shaking her head. "Don't you?"

"For not telling Bean Pole we're back? Yes…a tiny little bit…" Phasmi admitted nodding. "But only like the tiniest little bit."

"Well I feel terrible and he's going to find out," Charlotte said making a face. "I'm volunteering at his stupid school to help their school nurse out for my certification. He's going to see me and he's going to be upset that I didn't tell him sooner."

Phasmi smiled a bit. "I'm sure that he's caught on too…he passes by the house a bit more frequently than normal like he wants us to be here."

"Maybe he needs something," Charlotte mused slowly, shaking it off. "I am really frustrated today, I'm sorry."

Phasmi shrugged it off, giving her sister a pat on the back and then making her way to the breakfast table as Charlotte took a shower and then came down for coffee. She was dressed in jeans and a sweater because this was just a high school student nurse kind of gig this morning and she didn't need anything like a doctor's lab coat even though those were fun to wear. Taking a deep breath when she got to the school that morning, trying to avoid all people as much as possible for fear that Stiles somehow just _knew_ she was there. Besides, right now she needed to focus on something not Stiles and not Derek and she didn't know how to do that with so much past behind her.

_"Why do you always act like such an alpha male, Lotty?" Stiles asked his cousin, joking of course, but still curious._

_Ever since he could remember, Charlotte had always tried to be in charge and while Phasmi tried too, it wasn't really so much Phasmi as it was Charlotte. There was a bond between werewolves—especially those another werewolf turned—and Charlotte enjoyed her werewolf status even though she never really got to use it against Stiles. Stiles was one of the few treasured people that Charlotte took care of no matter what, and what he didn't know was just how alpha Charlotte really was. She had since given up her pack, however, and was just Charlotte._

_"You know Charles—she's a control freak," Phasmi laughed as they played video games together. "Just let her win…"_

_Charlotte gasped loudly. "Do not just **let** me win! Also, call my 'Lotty' again and I will punch you."_

_"Please don't…I don't know why, but you actually pack quite the whollop," Stiles winced shaking his head. "Like…it's painful…"_

_"I'm a perfect specimen of a human being," Charlotte winked, winning the game._

On top of having such a great relationship with her cousin that she was jeopardizing because of the investigation into Laura Hale's murder, Charlotte could remember things she shouldn't. It had taken her and Phasmi a long time to control their minds during transformation even though they couldn't always maintain it, and she could still remember a lot of things that even Derek couldn't get her through not because he didn't try, but because Charlotte refused to forgive _herself_. There were things she had seen through her wolf eyes that had made her just want to give up on everything, but she had never been able to bring herself to do that either, because she loved living too much and wanted to be around to protect her friends and family.

_It was dark outside, wind whipping through the trees as the moonlight shown through the branches in the forest. A full moon. The night was dangerous, especially with werewolves in these woods and there was a hunter out to get her…she knew that much. Self preservation was part of Charlotte's internal program and it was on overdrive, which had driven her to stalk the one stalking her like they were prey and she attacked. It wasn't a bite that would just turn them, no…she mauled the man viciously, claws ripping into his flesh, blood splashing onto her werewolf fur, staining it for now._

_His screams hadn't halted her, she just kept shredding him, biting into his jugular with her large, bared wolf teeth, ripping him to pieces and then continuing into the forest. That night a lot of other things happened she couldn't remember because of the bloodlust, but she remember the man and his face and she found Derek, also a wolf at this part. It was one of many nights that they spent together and she woke up the next morning snuggled against his naked body with her own, in the leaves, blood on her skin that she needed to shower off._

_At first she had smiled, Derek's face nuzzling hers, glad her mate was by her side and that was just it…somehow they'd become **mates**. They had had a strong bond in the first place, but sleeping together in human **and** wolf form had them bonded together so strongly that sometimes Charlotte couldn't take it and it was driving her crazy. Still, Derek kissed her neck before the smell of blood assaulted their nostrils, and everything came flooding back like a bad dream as she tasted it in her mouth, her kill from before. Killing never got any easier._

Charlotte frowned, worry lines appearing on her forehead as she got herself all signed in at the office and got a name tag. Then she found her way to the school nurse's office and she made herself at home with the supplies, taking a deep breath and wishing she hadn't been thinking about Derek, but sleeping with him the other night was really taking its toll on her. She was drawn to him and him to her, but they were still kind of human and they fought against their instinctual urges as much as possible for so many different reasons that sometimes Charlotte lost track. Maybe it was some sort of werewolf side effect, but either way, Charlotte wanted to shake him off.

Taking another deep breath, Caroline went about her day just fine until she overheard some talk about the death and it dawned on her that she was being selfish and arrogant and she couldn't do that. It was eating away at her, Laura's death, and the one person she had wanted to run to about it and make sure that he was doing alright was Derek and now he was back and she was avoiding him…how was that even fair? She needed to suck it up and deal with it, so after school ended, she found herself sniffing him out and when she got to his old house she just kind of stopped and her heart sank. Private property, sure, but it was the burnt up house.

"Why are you here?" Derek asked her firmly.

Charlotte licked her lips. "Because your sister was murdered and I still give a shit about you and how you're doing."

"Well, it's taken care of," Derek responded nodding. "Was that all?"

"Wow," Charlotte scoffed, walking up toward him. "Are you fucking joking me right now? You honestly just showed up the other night to just screw me?"

"I was back and I could smell you," Derek shrugged, not wanting to do this right now.

He wasn't being entirely truthful, but Derek Hale was protective and right now he was trying to make sure that Scott McCall didn't blow everything for everyone. If Charlotte decided to take over she would just mother him and baby him and he needed tough love if he was going to do anything right—besides, right now was not a good time for Derek and he didn't want Charlotte to be implicated in anything. They both knew how they felt even though neither of them had ever actually uttered the words.

"You can go to Hell," Charlotte said, having come up with her answer.

"You can't mother everyone," Derek retorted, knowing she was angry.

Charlotte narrowed her eyes at him, Derek watching as they turned red. "I'm _not_ mothering you, Derek. I think we both know what I'm doing."

"Trying to seduce me with your Alpha eyes?" Derek asked, half teasing her. "I know you didn't bite Scott, but you need to be careful. An Alpha is trying to create a pack and you know it, I know you do."

"Don't act like you give a shit about me!" Charlotte snapped at him.

She knew she was growling a little bit, and it just got worse when Derek got angry too, his eyes going a blue and not even the yellow/orange that werewolf eyes usually went when they were 'wolfing out'. The two had a habit of getting angry with each other and while they could control themselves rather well because they had been living with this their entire lives, sometimes it took being rough with each other in a more wolfish way to get through to each other. It wasn't abuse as they'd never actually hurt each other unless it was a sex wound and they didn't _want_ to hurt each other unless it was to give a sex injury, but they were wolves.

They had animalistic tendencies and they enjoyed the rough part of who they were and they enjoyed more than they'd admit out loud that they could handle whatever the other had to offer and now they were on the ground. Charlotte could feel the grass beneath her back as she growled at Derek, Derek growling back because he wanted to get through to her. He didn't want her to hate him, he just wanted her to back off until he said it was clear but he couldn't best her…she was an Alpha. In a pack he was just her mate and while that elevated his station too, she was the top dog and she didn't like _not_ being top dog regardless of what she was trying to be the best at.

It looked like they were wrestling rather fast and yet the tussle ended up the way that it always ended up, very ' _Lion King_ ' style, with Charlotte on top. They had both discarded the glowing eyes but their chest were heaving, a little aroused by the fact that Charlotte was just sitting on top of Derek, Derek between her strong legs on his back. She could do anything she wanted to, to him and he wouldn't stop her at all, not once—but right now she was just reveling in his hazel eyes and it hurt her to admit that she still knew that he cared about her and about others like them. The two of them had always protected other werewolves and their family and friends as best as they could, so why was this any different?

"You're an ass," Charlotte said even though part of her didn't entirely mean it.

Derek nodded at that. "As long as it keeps werewolves safe, I am willing to be an ass."

"You can't live here," Charlotte told him softly.

"I can't live anywhere else," Derek responded shaking his head.

"You could live with Phas, Mom and I,"

"Your mother hates me and I'm not letting the Argents know we're involved."

"My mother hates that we have sex, she doesn't hate you and I'm an Alpha—I can take care of myself."

"I'm not leaving this place."

"Fine, but I want _you_ to be careful—Alphas losing their mates? It looks bad."

Derek rolled his eyes but inside he was smiling because the tone was playful and he knew that at least this wasn't hate. This was just anger and while he deserved it for leaving, she had needed them to separate too and now he was back and they were going to have to put up with each other. Not to mention she had cared enough to show up and he reached up to cup her face a moment, nodding when she pulled back. Teasing him or not, Charlotte was mad and she needed Derek to understand that she was in this with him if he needed her, but her phone rang and she pulled it out of her pocket, shutting her mouth instead of speaking to him.

"Derek…you haven't by any chance been violent with Scott, have you?" Charlotte asked him, making a face and just like that all playfulness was over and done with.

Derek made a face. "Who is that?"

"It's Stiles," Charlotte said sighing loudly. "Great, you've pissed off Scott's best friend!"


	3. An Argent Warning

_"You trust me, right?" Charlotte asked one morning after a full moon._

_She and Derek weren't normally so careless as to give in to turning, but sometimes it was fun to hunt together—not kill, just stalk prey through the woods and then lose themselves in the moments that followed. This particular morning was sunny and they were snuggled up half dressed on the ground in the leaves under the trees, her fingers tracing along the contours of Derek's muscles. He smiled that rare smile and nodded, turning his face to look her in the eye so that she could tell that he was being honest with her and that warmed her whole heart because trust was hard for him. Kate had betrayed him in the worst possible way by killing his family and it had taken him a long time to get here._

_"Good, because I would never intentionally hurt you," she responded with a nod._

_Derek kissed her, teeth tugging on her bottom lip, which just made her moan into him and then climb on top of his body. They enjoyed these moments, always aware of how it could be gentle if they tried, they just enjoyed getting caught up in the moment and Derek crooned at her fingers on his skin as she let her head dip, nipping at his Adam's Apple and then placing a kiss to his mouth, tucking hair behind her ear. She looked so beautiful to him in his t-shirt, clad in nothing but her underwear beneath the shirt and he was only wearing pants, his hands running up and down her arms._

_"I don't regret this, you know…being your mate," Derek admitted with a shrug. "If anything it's really hot sex…"_

_Rolling her eyes Charlotte laughed. "You are just **so** romantic, Hale."_

Charlotte was not very happy with the fact that Scott's mother had told Scott that she was there and then Scott had told Stiles. Add in that Derek was pretty much going out of his way to intimidate the new wolf into submission and Charlotte was away from Derek as fast as she could be. Stiles was on his way to the house because his cousins were in town and he wanted to see them and he was family…he knew that Derek and Charlotte had a past together even though he didn't really know anything about the mate business. All of that had happened later on.

There was a time there for a while where the Gracelands had been on their own away from Beacon Hill and that was when Charlotte and Derek had first met up again and he had been so damaged by what Kate had done to him, that he was as untrusting as ever even though Charlotte…wow. She was beautiful to him all grown up and he remembered the pretty girl that did so much with him, but Kate had used him and killed his family. Then again, he knew that Charlotte would never do something like that to him because she cared about him so much more than he thought he deserved.

_Derek Hale could smell Charlotte Graceland from a mile away. They had known when they were younger that they were both werewolves and their families while not close, were aware of each other. By this point, Melody Graceland was still keeping things from her brother about her husband and her kids, but they were all going to school, Stiles years behind the girls and in Beacon Hills. One thing was for certain out here right now though: the 19 year-old could not be stopped and she was gorgeous._

_Her blonde hair stood out in the sun, her blue eyes twinkling dangerously as she smiled when she saw Derek, able to recognize him by smell as well—you never forget your first kiss. The two of them had always been friends though, especially when Kate had come into the picture and that fire hadn't just happened to Derek…it had happened to Charlotte too. The Hales were her family too and when they were taken, Melody was out of there so fast with her daughters that Charlotte actually felt scared._

_Charlotte was meant to be an Alpha._

_She got scared, sure, everyone did, but she was so good at being in control of a situation that she always wanted to be in control and had even tried to figure out how to be an Alpha. Not one yet, Charlotte was beyond happy to see Derek, going weak in the knees when he actually smiled at her, but the smile was more of a 'hello' than it was anything else at the time. He wasn't over his last heartbreak and she had broken his heart before Kate had come into the picture…and then he'd broken hers. As strong and confident as they both were, they had never uttered a word, afraid of their own deep feelings._

_"You grew up good," Charlotte said nodding. "I bet I could still beat you in a fight though."_

_Derek rolled his eyes because even now they were just as competitive, Charlotte laughing even though she'd been completely serious about it. She and Derek had always play wrestled and rough housed a bit, and now they were about to understand just what it meant to pick someone out for more than just a wrestling partner. They could tell that there was an attraction and they had no idea what it was deep down, but Charlotte felt her happiest with him and Derek his happiest with her…even if neither of them could admit it out loud._

"I'm going to kill him," Charlotte told Phasmi over the phone.

Phasmi nodded gently. "Yeah, why? I thought you loved him."

"Don't use that word with me," Charlotte quipped, meaning 'love'. "He's scaring the shit out of Scott and I'm going to put a stop to it."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa…just whoa, Charles," Phasmi said shaking her head. "You can't just tell Stiles and Scott that you're a werewolf!"

"Why not, Phazzles?" Charlotte asked her honestly. "I mean Stiles knows about werewolves now, doesn't he? His best friend is one and he needs help to control it…why not an Alpha?"

Phasmi sighed gently. "You're an Alpha that's been without a pack for awhile now, Charles…"

Charlotte grumbled because she hated to be reminded of that fact, hanging up on her sister only to enter the house and run upstairs to change. As she pulled her shirt off though to enter her room, she screamed, really wishing she had taken the time to smell out Stiles and Scott instead of dwelling on Derek. Stiles let out a cry himself, Scott covering up his eyes and Charlotte quickly changed her shirt before she smiled a little and then laughed, Scott and Stiles looking at her.

"Last boobs you guys are going to see for a long time, you should have drunk it in—except Stiles because that would be disturbing," Charlotte said smiling.

Stiles gave her a look. "I hate you."

"I know you do, but I hate you more," Charlotte responded as Stiles came over to give her a hug, her hugging him back. "So…why did you come to me?"

"To talk some sense into Derek while we snoop around for a dead body," Stiles responded pulling back. "You were friends when you were little and now you're both back because of…what exactly?"

Charlotte had to pause a moment as she took the information in, trying to figure out what to say here because honestly she had to lie. She had wanted to come clean and she still could, but this…Stiles was putting himself in danger on purpose and she really didn't like the idea of him being involved in any of this at all. He needed to stay away from werewolves and yet his best friend was a werewolf and so she just took a deep breath and let it all come out.

"Stiles, I'm a werewolf too," Charlotte told him, shaking her head as he took a step back and Scott's eyes widened. "We have a werewolf problem on our hands and I just…I came here to fix it—you guys never should have gotten mixed up in this. Especially you, Scott."

"Derek bit me and killed that girl and you're here to put him down?!" Stiles asked his cousin quickly. "HOLY SHIT! Wait…DOES DAD KNOW?!"

Charlotte raised her eyebrows. "No, he doesn't and let's keep it that way. What are you talking about? Derek killed what girl? Just how much do you think you know?!"

Stiles decided to start at the beginning, telling her how he and Scott had gone to try and find the dead body and how Scott had lost his inhaler and gotten bitten. Then he told her how it was Derek that had done it and Charlotte admitted that Phasmi and their mother were werewolves even though Phasmi wasn't that happy about it. Now Stiles thought they were cheating when they played video games and she had so enjoyed beating him at every one. Still, he was family and Melody was happy to have it off of her chest even though it concerned her a little, the Derek information.

Wanting to get to the bottom of it all, Charlotte was off again to Derek, nearing the house and getting right down to it when he came out of the door. She knew that Stiles and Scott were going to try and find the body that night and she wasn't even the least bit happy about it because she thought that Laura Hale deserved to be buried and to rest in peace. Charlotte didn't want Derek to get framed for the murder and she told Stiles and Scott to hold off but he was Stiles and Charlotte did want to know if Derek bit Scott or not.

"Are you making a pack?" Charlotte asked him.

Derek gave her a scowl in response. "Did my eyes look red to you?"

"Okay, stupid question, just…you have to be careful—I can smell Laura here, which means that Scott can too and they are looking for her body and I can't let them do that. I can't let the Argents know that you're back, especially when Kate is still fucking alive." Charlotte said bitterly.

"I can take care of myself," Derek told her slowly.

"Said the Beta to the Alpha…" Charlotte responded without thinking.

At first Derek felt a flip flop happen in his stomach as he saw how angry at and jealous of Kate Argent that Charlotte still was, but the comment made him frown. Normally he didn't mind when Charlotte threw in his face that she was higher up on the food chain, but it had irked him and now he was scowling and Charlotte didn't seem to care. All she cared about right then was making sure that Derek was protected and she was going over plans in her head about how to help him out, but Derek didn't want her help…not at all.

"Leave me alone, Ar, I can handle myself," Derek said as he reverted to the other nickname.

'Ar' was short for 'Aria', her middle name, and he only used it when he was angry or fed up because it was one syllable and they knew each other well enough to call each other by their middle names. Derek only used 'Charlee' when he was feeling like her mate and right now neither of them really wanted to be mates, for completely different reasons. At the same time they knew that deep down they wanted it more than anything, and that caused a lot of their hostility towards one another and right now they were upset with each other.

"No, you're my mate," Charlotte responded, shaking her head stubbornly. "That means I protect you."

Derek made a derisive noise in his throat. "I left, remember?"

"How could I even forget that if I tried?" Charlotte asked him back, feeling a lump rise in her throat. "You really want me to leave you alone?"

"Yes!" Derek exclaimed without thinking about the consequences.

"Fine!" Charlotte retorted, nodding. "Have fun in prison!"

While she knew that the charges would get dropped, she was tired of Derek Hale right now and instead went back to her home and dealt with herself. She played video games against her sister without the help of any abilities, and then she went to bed, only to wake up the next morning to the news that Derek had been arrested. Charlotte fought against everything not to go and talk to him, but she had her sister to protect and didn't want the Argents to think that she and Derek were connected…she could protect him some other way. It wasn't even because he was her mate that she was like this: it was because she loved him even though she wouldn't admit it.

Charlotte Graceland and Derek Hale were connected and they both knew it, but it was so much more than that even though they were too scared to say it. They had even had a lot of gentle moments, it was just that the two of them were too stubborn for their own good and Derek had left after the incident…the whole pack had disbanded and Derek left her _alone_. Of course she didn't feel like she could trust him right now even though she still trusted him with her life, and Derek felt like pushing her away was for the best even though he and Charlotte both knew that should his life be in danger, she would be the first one to come to his rescue whether he wanted her to or not.

"Today is a joy," Charlotte said sarcastically as she got ready to go to the hospital that day, calling up Stiles. "Bean Pole, darling, Derek didn't do it."

Stiles paused in his tracks. "What?"

"The girl in the woods? That was Laura Hale, Derek's sister," Charlotte explained with a gentle sigh. "Derek didn't murder her, and he didn't bite Scott, I would know."

"Why, because you asked him?" Stiles asked her with a look on his face he knew she couldn't see.

"No, because this werewolf is an Alpha and Derek is not an Alpha," Charlotte told him pausing a moment before continuing. "Derek is a Beta wolf like Scott and this Alpha? It's making a pack and Scott has been inducted against his will."

"That's just freaking peachy keen, jellybean," Stiles replied sarcastically. "So what do we do? Derek may not have killed the girl or bitten Scott, but he has a point about the Lacrosse match tonight."

Charlotte sighed loudly. "Scott can't play in that—he has no idea as to what the fuck he is doing. He needs a teacher because there are hunters on the loose and he is going to get us all killed. I like being alive, Bean Pole!"

"I know!" Stiles exclaimed suddenly, beaming. " _You_ can teach Scott how to be a werewolf!"

Stopping in her tracks, Charlotte felt fear creep into her because she felt like she was the worst possible candidate for this…she was an Alpha. One wrong move and she could hurt Scott even though it might be nice for her to be there to keep him in line and so maybe Stiles wasn't wholly wrong here but Charlotte just…no, she'd trained a pack before. Perhaps it was the working so closely with Derek that was making her pause to try and find a way out of this. She didn't like facing her feelings where he was concerned, she just liked to bury the feelings and move on from there.

Stiles repeated the sentence and then said something cheeky in the silence when Charlotte spoke up and said she'd help Derek teach him. She was more than willing to be the buffer that Scott needed and she knew that Derek wanted a chance to prove that he could train werewolves just as well and he wanted the secret under wraps so he had the want. Besides, Charlotte knew that Derek was more than qualified, but should anything happen Charlotte was a good go-to as well, seeing as how she had spilled human blood before.

That was actually another reason why Derek wanted Charlotte to be as out of the fray as possible because a Hunter wouldn't pause if they knew a werewolf had killed. As Charlotte was an Alpha, that meant she'd at least turned and Charlotte had killed…her blood lust had been too much for her a time or two, but she'd learned to control it for the most part and Derek had faith in her. That was what kept her going the most and while she could actually admit that one to herself, she couldn't admit it out loud, especially not to Derek himself.

"Just keep an eye on your friend today, please," Charlotte told him before hanging up.

Nodding at that, she had some breakfast with Phasmi and her mother and then Charlotte went to work, trying to make small talk with Scott's mother while she was there. Then it was time for the Lacrosse match and instead of going to watch it, Charlotte went out into the woods to try and find the Alpha because it was important that she do so. Something needed to be done about all of this and she had heard word that Derek was being released because of the positive ID on Laura's body and he didn't need her right now.

The problem was, no matter what Derek said to her, Charlotte got protective and so she showed up at Derek's place and he just sighed and nodded at her. He let her tag along with him that night, both of them in silence in the car ride for a moment or two before they both opened up their mouths to speak and then they both shut their mouths thinking the other would speak. For a moment Charlotte hoped that it would be something more personal, but this was Derek and he was back to avenge his sister because it had all been a trap for him and it was more important…for now.

"You're an Alpha…can you track another one better?" Derek asked her slowly. "You have a much better handle on things than the rest of us and you're strong and violent."

Charlotte sighed and nodded. "I'm just going to take that as a compliment and yes…I have been close to the Alpha a couple of times, but they're tricking and they're masking themselves from even my great sense of smell. Which, by the way, you know I hate that cologne."

"I wore it just for you," Derek responded with a cheeky smile.

"That makes you an ass," Charlotte laughed, shaking her head. "Pull over up here at the Food Mart. I want powdered donuts."

"Not in my car," Derek responded, giving her a look as they sat there in his black Chevy Camaro. "You'll get that stuff everywhere."

Charlotte smirked at him. "You need gas anyway."

Derek nodded at that and pulled into the gas station, Charlotte going into the Food Mart to get something to eat and drink, her ears perking up when the Hunters showed up. She knew Chris Argent's scent and face almost as well as she knew Kate Argent's scent and face, and paid for her things quickly because there was no way that she was leaving Derek in their hands even though technically Chris wasn't allowed to touch him. There was some unwritten code that a Hunter wasn't allowed to spill the blood of a wolf that hadn't spilled human blood and so as long as Chris stayed honorable, Derek was fine, but Charlotte was not and she wondered if Chris knew what she was. If he did, then it was just a matter of time before he found out that Phasmi and Melody were and Charlotte couldn't put her family in danger…but Derek.

Suddenly, Charlotte was faced with a dilemma because she wanted to protect everyone and she'd be hurting one or the other no matter what she did. Derek Hale meant just as much to her as her family and in a life or death situation she would gladly sacrifice herself to keep him safe regardless of anything that had happened between them in the past. He was her mate and her pack, and his safety was her number one priority right now. Sucking it up, she went toward the doors of the Food Mart and saw Chris talking to Derek, wiping off his windshield and Derek whispered in the wind to her, knowing she could hear him.

"Stay where you are," he said gently, keeping his gaze on Chris, who just thought he was mumbling to himself at first.

Charlotte took a deep breath. "Damn-it, Derek…"

"When you've got something this nice…you want to take care of it, right?" Chris asked Derek as he wiped the windshield. "Personally, I'm very protective of the things I love—that's something I learned from my family. You don't have much of that these days," Chris said, finishing up and looking at Derek, "do you?"

"That bastard," Charlotte said as the clerk watched her curiously.

Derek clenched his fist because he wanted to strike, but he wasn't going to because it would make Charlotte leap into action and while she might just prevail with Derek by her side, he didn't want to endanger her. She was the most important thing to him and the one thing in his life that he still had no matter what and he just couldn't lose her or get her into trouble. Charlotte had a family to protect and Derek wanted to protect them too, not to mention that he didn't want Chris to see Charlotte's face and Charlotte knew that…she was just close enough to strike if she needed to, so she was letting Derek assert himself, and watched as he unclenched his fist, Chris watching Derek's every move. He wasn't making a move to kill though, and Charlotte just tried to breathe as her heart beat away in her chest.

"There you go," Chris said putting the washer down. "You can actually look through your windshield now. See how it makes everything so much clearer?"

Derek knew he meant that in a much different way. "You forgot to check the oil…"

Chris smirked and Charlotte stood at the ready in case that got Derek beaten up and watched as one of the Hunters broke one of Derek's windows and her eyes flashed red, but they left and so she exited the Mart and went straight to Derek. It didn't matter that they were strained right now, because that was terrifying and she cupped his face after tossing her bag into the car, looking him in the eye. She was so close to him, hot breath on his face and their eyes met, Derek just nodding to let her know that he was fine, but something was wrong. He needed to go and see the man that was attacked that morning in the hospital and Charlotte nodded and went with him.

Somehow, the man knew Derek's name and Charlotte felt like it was all one big set-up, and she and Derek went back to his place, Charlotte pausing a moment. She hadn't wanted to be taken home and at first Derek had protested, but she always seemed to get what she wanted eventually and so they ended up back at what was left of his family home and he let her inside. Charlotte wanted him to be in a better place that was less open for attack, but Derek was just as stubborn as she was and had already made up his mind about it. So, Charlotte sat down on the top of the steps and Derek paused but sat down next to her, their shoulders touching.

"The Argents are going to be a problem," Charlotte said slowly. "Sooner or later they're going to find out about me being a werewolf too if they don't already know…"

Derek nodded slowly. "Doesn't help that Scott is dating Allison Argent."

"That definitely puts a damper on things," Charlotte agreed, nodding. "So, dinner and then I'll peace out? I've got donuts, Fritos and apple juice."

"That's not dinner…that's not even a proper snack!" Derek laughed, Charlotte laughing too.

Before they knew it, Charlotte was leaning in, reaching up to touch Derek's face because she really was worried about him and this entire situation, and Derek looked her in the eye too. He reached up to cup her face, running his thumb over her cheek and even though their hearts sped up and Derek looked at her lips, the door opened up and Scott stood there, heaving. Scott was upset and it was obvious to everyone in the room, but Derek didn't want to take anymore of his crap and Charlotte hadn't wanted Scott to see her and Derek close like this.

"What is going on?!" Scott asked, breaking the two apart.


	4. Just Can't Lose You

"Scott, just calm down," Charlotte said gently, standing up. "What happened?"

Scott took a breath. "The bus driver is dead! Derek killed him!"

"Derek wouldn't do that," Charlotte protested.

"Why? Because you've fallen for his brooding or something?" Scott asked angrily, practically cutting Charlotte off as he started to climb the stairs. "He found his sister…"

"I found her in pieces!" Derek protested, shaking his head. "She was bait, for me!"

Scott shook his head. "I think you killed her! I think you killed them both!"

"Why would he kill his sister?!" Charlotte asked, stepping into the argument.

"I'm going to tell everyone…including the Sheriff," Scott threatened and just like that, a fight started.

Charlotte gasped as she saw Derek push Scott, watching as Scott rolled down the stairs and hit the bottom of the landing hard, fur appearing on his face as his claws extended and his eyes glowed that wolf yellow/orange. He growled at Derek, his canines extended and showing, his nose more pronounced, and Derek just jumped down the whole flight of stairs and landed in front of him. Charlotte protested, but before she knew it, Scott had thrown Derek through the wall and into the next room and now she was just upset and hurried into the other room quicker than Scott could detect at first as he was focused on Derek. Stretching a little and cracking his bones as they morphed, Charlotte saw Derek's eyes glow blue and he too became the humanoid wolf figure, Charlotte's eyes glowing red as she extended her nails just in case, feeling her teeth grow.

He and Scott started to fight each other, but regardless of both being Beta wolves, Scott was new to this and Derek was much stronger than he was. That, and he was used to being the mate of an Alpha and he had been challenged a time or two just to be challenged, and Charlotte knew that well—with being Alpha came challenges to her reign. When Derek had subdued Scott though, he morphed back into himself and then Charlotte changed too, everyone back to human form and Scott started yelling about being bitten. Stiles must not have gotten to that part of the talk, but Derek yelled back and when Charlotte confirmed that it was neither her nor Derek that bit him, Scott finally understood just how serious this all was.

Still, it felt nice for Scott to finally kind of trust Derek, and right now he was so focused on this Alpha biting him that he didn't even mention that he had walked in on Derek and Charlotte about to kiss. So, for the next couple days, everything seemed to go pretty well, even though Charlotte and Derek were arguing more and more, Charlotte wanting to leave Derek out of this because there was an Alpha involved and she didn't want him to get hurt. She thought that she could take care of it all on her own and because of that, Derek wanted to prove to her that he could do this and they decided to stalk at night like old times.

It started out with wrestling.

They were using the woods to play 'Hide and Seek' of a sort, Charlotte giggling when Derek came up behind her and tackled her down, both of them wrestling on the ground until Charlotte pinned him to the grass with a smirk on her face. When Derek tried to get up she pushed him back down, Derek crooning when she moved on top of him and squeezed him with her thighs to keep him right where he was. Charlotte leaned down, faces close and then smiled a toothy smile before she got off of him, Derek resting on the ground a moment before he got up.

All that did was remind him of all the carefree times that they used to wrestle when it was just the two of them and sometimes rough sex would ensue but not now. No, Charlotte might still trust him with her life, but trusting him with her heart was a completely different thing and he got that—she didn't know if he was just going to up and leave after killing this Alpha and that was just it…if he killed the Alpha, that would make _him_ an Alpha. She wondered if he wanted to do that so he could be an Alpha too, but then there would be _two_ Alphas and he just might win a wrestle and she didn't want that.

"You want to kill this Alpha, don't you?" Charlotte asked him as she rustled her hair.

Derek nodded at her. "He killed my sister."

"That the only reason you want to do it?" Charlotte mused, cocking her head to one side and letting her blonde curls fall on her shoulders.

"You just don't want me to beat you at wrestling," Derek laughed, shaking his head. "You are so competitive."

"I don't want you to win unless I say it's okay that you win…" Charlotte admitted slowly.

"Sometimes, Charlotte, you need to be commanded…" Derek responded, taking a few steps toward her. "Let me dominate once in a while…"

With his werewolf speed, he pressed her back to a nearby tree nice and hard liked she liked, mouth assaulting her with wanting, bruising kisses and Charlotte just kissed him back. He smiled when she hoisted herself up a bit and wrapped her legs around him, fingers immediately going into his hair as he pawed at her clothes. They both groaned though, when they heard gunfire and off they were just like that to see what the commotion was all about. It was honestly just like old times, though Charlotte was making a face because she could smell Kate Argent and that made Derek pin her down. Normally she would flip him right over, but she understood why he was shaking his head.

"I won't let her hurt you," Derek promised before he was shot.

They had paused in a bad spot and Kate shot Derek with a wolfsbane laced bullet, and Charlotte was right there to jump in after him as he fell through the roof of a building. The Alpha had been nearby too, but Charlotte was more concerned about Derek and she landed straddling him, looking at his wound and then helping him up. It was important to warn Scott at this point, but Charlotte took Derek to her house first even though he was protesting, because she wanted to set his wound. What made him pause was when she ordered him to take his shirt off, and when he froze, Charlotte sighed and reached for the bottom of his shirt anyway.

At first Derek pushed her hands away, but they made eye contact and after she gave him a stern look, she went for his shirt again and started to pull it up his body. Even though he was wincing, he lifted up his arms and Charlotte pulled his shirt off over his head, tossing it onto the floor and looking down at his chest upon instinct, Derek watching her watch his muscles at work as he lowered his arms, sighing with content when her fingertips touched his now bare skin. Every time she touched him, Derek felt like every nerve in his body was on fire and he inched closer, but that broke her trance and she looked him in the eye and then pointed to the shower.

"Use it," Charlotte said, swallowing even though her mouth was dry. "I need to get Mom's emergency first aid kit so that I can fix you up good as new. I need to know exactly what kind of bullet this is and then I have to figure out…I need to get it out first and foremost. I just…"

Derek nodded and took a step back to his original position. "Can't have your mate dying on you…"

"Just can't lose you," Charlotte admitted with a gentle smile. "Shower."

She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his for a moment before she pulled back and left the room, Derek getting into the shower and getting out quickly. They needed to find Scott and they needed to get into the Argents' place and Charlotte couldn't do it all on her own…so once Derek got out of the shower, he dried off and let Charlotte get the bullet out, complaining about it the whole time, but he couldn't heal himself. It was off to the school they went and Charlotte guided Derek down the halls even though he was trying really hard to do this all himself, and then he saw Jackson Whittemore and Derek went straight for him since Jackson was captain of the Lacrosse team that Scott was on.

"Where is Scott McCall?" Derek asked him.

"Why should I tell you?" Jackson responded and then looked at Charlotte. "Aren't you that part time student nurse?"

Derek looked at Jackson firmly. "Because I asked nicely and I only do that once."

"Just tell us where he is please, it's urgent," Charlotte cut in as Jackson looked at Derek like he was sizing him up. "Do you know where he is?"

"How about, I will tell you guys where he is if you pay witness to him telling me what he's selling him…" Jackson answered nodding.

"Wow, I do not have time for this," Charlotte said, deciding to just sniff him out.

As she and Derek moved to go past Jackson though, Jackson grabbed Derek by the shoulder and that was mistake number one. It was his hurt arm and though it was currently protected by the leather jacket, he was not to be touched and he slammed Jackson against the locker, wolf nails digging into his neck before Charlotte could stop him. Tugging on him though, Charlotte pulled Derek away from Jackson and dragged him off, Charlotte pausing for a moment because instead of smelling Scott right off the bat, she was smelling Stiles, but not Stiles…Stiles on someone.

"He's sleeping with someone," Charlotte said aloud, rather confused. "That sly dog…"

Derek made a face. "What are you talking about?"

"Nothing, just…let's find Scott," Charlotte nodded affirmatively.

Just then the bell rang, Derek looking incredibly pained and that pained Charlotte too, over to him in a second and Derek hated feeling this weak. He knew that Charlotte could best him in a fight and he knew that he was just her mate, but right now he didn't even feel like he could anywhere near her equal and he was upset. Still, he let her take him out of the building, making a face when she pointed to Stiles in the sea of the crowd. Stiles had a jeep and Charlotte wanted to get her cousin to do her a favor, even if it meant him finding out about her and Derek.

"What's going on?" Stiles asked, having to stop his car as Derek walked in front of it, holding up a line of other teenagers trying to get through to go home.

Charlotte opened her mouth to speak when Derek fell over, instead getting on her knees and kneeling down next to him, Scott seeing them. He hurried over and witnessed Derek's eyes morphing to their werewolf blue and kept telling him to knock it off, which made Charlotte throw him a snarl and that shut Scott up really quick. Then Charlotte hoisted Derek up and put him in the passenger seat of Stiles' car, getting into the back and looking at Scott when Scott told her that Derek had 24 hours.

"I hate to ask this of you because I know what that feeling is that you feel for Allison," Charlotte told Scott, looking from him to Derek, "but I need you to find out what kind of bullet that is. I have a book and I'm trying, but I need to be one hundred percent certain and you're going over to her house today."

Stiles made a face. "I'm sorry, what am I missing here?"

"A lot," Scott and Charlotte said at once.

Because Scott was a werewolf, he could smell Derek on Charlotte and Charlotte on Derek, even if he didn't exactly know what that meant at first. Then there was the walking in on them almost about to kiss and he knew what was going on but didn't know quite how to tell Stiles about his cousin being with Derek Hale because that just might tip him over the edge. Derek terrified Stiles and yet Scott promised and Charlotte nodded and told Stiles to drive, reaching up to feel Derek's forehead, worried about how clammy it was.

"Are you two…?" Stiles asked as he drove, rather angry about everything. "Because you're looking at him with those eyes…"

Charlotte nodded, and ran her fingers through Derek's hair. "He's my mate, Stiles. Kind of like with real wolves, you know? Pick a partner, stay with them as long as you can—not marriage exactly, just mates."

"You're _what_?!" Stiles asked her loudly, pulling the car over. "Just when were you planning on telling me that?! What does that even mean?! You guys…really?! With _him_?!"

"The real kicker?" Charlotte asked him, trying to lighten the moment. "We do it in both forms."

"Well fuck," Stiles said gently.

"Exactly," Charlotte laughed nodding.

Stiles glared at her. "Shut up…"

"It's a little different though. His scent is stronger than the others and his touch and taste is more intense—it's a bond that's especially intense during the full moon when I'm all…horny. He can smell it on me." Charlotte explained to him.

"Now you _really_ need to shut up…" Stiles told her frowning.

Derek was a little touched by how soft and loving Charlotte's tone was when she talked about being his mate, lace with a little lust in the end, but he felt like death and he and Charlotte both knew he smelt like it. In fact, as the hours wore on and Scott was stuck in the house with all of the Argents, even _Stiles_ could smell Derek and Charlotte was getting a little bit antsy, taking the phone from Stiles when Stiles complained to Scott about it all, Phasmi and hers and Charlotte's mother on their way home to try and help too. There was bad blood here and Stiles could tell, but he didn't know what to do, he was just following orders.

"Scott, you need me and you need Derek—if you let Derek die, I will never forgive you. It's a bullet, Scott. Find a bag and get in her things. If it's wolfsbane, text me back because I think I have a good picture of it, I just need confirmation. It could be a spell; it could be laced with wolfsbane…just find out." Charlotte instructed hastily.

She handed the phone back to Stiles and then got out of the car, Stiles protesting until Charlotte opened up the passenger door and then he was protesting for a whole other reason. Charlotte straddled Derek's lap and cupped his face, both of them making eye contact while Stile shifted uncomfortably in the driver's seat, glancing over to see Charlotte rest her forehead against Derek's. Their eye contact was broken when they both closed their eyes to revel in the contact, Derek needing to feel like he still had her just in case this was the end.

"Stiles…look away," Charlotte said as she leaned in slowly to kiss Derek.

Stiles made a noise as Charlotte's and Derek's lips met, looking away and then yelping when he heard a gentle growling coming from Derek's throat. "Hey! Do not mate in front of me!"

Charlotte smiled a little and then just rested her forehead against Derek's, Derek using his good arm to reach up and bury his fingers in her golden locks. He and Charlotte made eye contact again and Derek opened up his mouth to say something when Stiles got a picture text from Scott. The box that held the bullets had an inscription on the top that read: _Aconit Napel Bleu Nordique_. Charlotte growled and Stiles saw her eyes glow red and for a second he just froze in the car and Charlotte growled again, Derek shaking his head.

"Nordic Blue Monkswood is a rare form of woldsbane," Charlotte said angrily, getting back into the backseat and having Stiles drive her to her house. "I know how to cure him, and when I'm done I'm ripping her throat out."

Derek shook his head slowly. "Deep breaths, Charlee…"

"Don't tell me to breathe!" Charlotte snapped, claws extending as her red eyes blazed. "I'm going to _kill_ her! Tell Scott to bring me that bullet!"

"I want you to calm down, first…" Stiles told his cousin slowly.

"STILES!" Charlotte snapped at him, Derek growling.

There was too much growling happening in his car and Stiles drove Charlotte home nice and quick, Charlotte taking them into the basement and pulling Derek's shirt off. Stiles just stood over by the door awkwardly as Derek breathed heavily, hoping that they weren't going to go at it, but Derek looked too weak for that, werewolf or not and he knew Charlotte well enough to know that she would never take advantage of anyone…Derek especially if he was in fact her mate. He wondered when Charlotte and Derek had made that official, but it was obvious from how she looked at the wound and kept checking his breathing and his pulse, that she loved him and as Derek watched Charlotte flip out over him slowly dying in front of her, Stiles could tell that Derek loved Charlotte too.

"If the infection reaches your heart…" Charlotte said slowly, her voice cracking.

Derek nodded, pacing a little bit, antsy. "I'll die."

"I can't let you die," Charlotte told him, shaking her head. "If it means dragging Scott out by his ears, I'm getting that bullet."

"You can't risk exposure to the Argents," Derek replied quickly. "You stay put."

"I CAN'T LET YOU DIE!" Charlotte screamed at him.

Stiles had never been so scared of his cousin in his entire life, watching as she was out of the room in a flash, Derek growling a little bit. He told Stiles that if Scott didn't get there in time, that Stiles would have to cut off his arm, and yet he had faith in Charlotte—she had never let him down before because she cared so damn much about him. None of them wanted Derek to lose his arm, but there was always a back-up plan and before anyone knew it, Charlotte was to the Argents' house and knocking on the door, Allison answering the door.

"I need Scott," Charlotte told her, shaking her head. "I'm Stiles' cousin and it's an emergency."

Allison nodded, Scott there with a backpack on. "He's right here…had to sit through an awkward dinner with my family."

"Well, this is important," Charlotte said, seeing Kate and trying to hold back her anger. "Kate…"

"You know my aunt?" Allison asked slowly.

"I used to live in Beacon Hills," Charlotte responded, reaching into Scott's back pocket stealthily and giving Kate an icy look. "I just needed to grab something from Scott but you all look busy."

Kate laughed a little as Charlotte backed out the door. "So he stole from my bag and then he was going to what? Give it to you?"

"Excuse me?" Charlotte asked angrily, trying to keep her eyes from flashing.

"My bag was open," Kate said nodding.

"Sounds like a personal problem to me," Charlotte responded, shrugging. "I'll just talk to Scott when you're done interrogating him."

Her words were mean and Allison knew that something was off by how much hatred was in Charlotte's eyes as well as in her aunt's, but Charlotte had every right to leave. She did, getting a safe distance away before she used her werewolf speed to make it back to her basement. Derek had already tied off his arm so that Stiles could slice it off if need be, but Derek grinned like a fool when he saw Charlotte standing there in the doorway, holding up the bullet with a smile on her face. Unfortunately, the smile faded when Derek leaned over and threw up some blood, Charlotte to him in an instant as Stiles started to wince and shake his head at it.

"Baby, you need to brace yourself," Charlotte told Derek as he tried to settle himself.

That said, Charlotte brought the bullet up to her mouth and then bit into it, pulling out the cap and dropping the powder onto the table. She then lit it on fire as Scott showed up, Scott and Stiles witnessing the blue smoke that rose off of it, Derek and Charlotte making eye contact as she scooped that into her hand, putting it onto his wound and pushing it into the bullet hole wound on his arm, Derek screaming out in pain and grinding his teeth together. He laid down on the floor, Charlotte waiting until the wound fully healed before their eyes before she straddled him and smiled, happy tears in her eyes.

"Crisis averted…sorry about the agonizing pain," Charlotte said, nuzzling him tenderly. "I seriously almost lost you there for a second…"

Derek shook his head and looked her in the eye. "I'm tougher than I look."

"Okay, so…now that his life is saved he's leaving us alone, right?" Scott asked him in the pause, watching the two interact like this.

"We don't trust the Argents…" Charlotte said shaking her head. "I will help Derek to help to teach you, but we are not trusting Kate Argent or Chris Argent and if Allison becomes a Hunter, we're not trusting her either."

Scott nodded slowly. "You…you and Kate looked hostile."

"Because she burned down Derek's house with his family inside of it," Charlotte told him angrily. "You want help to be a werewolf? You've come to the right place. I'm in."


	5. All In

**Smut Warning in this chapter**

Even though Charlotte had decided to help Derek to train Scott, she was a little bit worried about what was going on with her. She was an Alpha and Derek had a point about this whole anger thing triggering his abilities, but she also felt like it was more than anger—then again, she and Derek had been able to perfect some things over the years…she knew that Scott was feeling pretty bad. For a little while she thought that Derek had been her weak spot when she wanted to be an Alpha, but there were things that helped her other than just anger: strong as anger was, Charlotte actually felt like love was a key.

_"So…you're still here?" Derek asked Charlotte one day._

_Ever since they'd met up again, Derek had been keeping Charlotte as far away from him as possible emotionally, but it hurt both of them. Ever since Kate had used him and then set the fire in his home and killed his family, Derek had given pause to any feelings about women, even his childhood feelings for Charlotte. She had always been the one person outside of his family that he could always trust and now she was putting up with him even though he had been doing his best to be as mean as possible._

_Derek didn't know why it was taking her so long to get lost, but at the same time he hadn't meant to push her so far away from him either. At this point, Derek would be lucky if he even had a friend in her anymore because he'd been rude and he'd been uncaring and it was only because of the feelings churning away inside of him. He'd told himself that he would never let another woman get that close but Charlotte was someone he could depend on to treat him like family and protect him…he'd just been burned by love in the past and his heart was guarded._

_Cursing silently, he went to the town house that the Gracelands had been inhabiting, smelling Charlotte there and realizing that he had it bad. He could always pick her out, anywhere, and he remembered all the bantering as kids and the way she always stood up for him and was there when he needed her and he needed her. He was going through so much and he had been taking it out on her, Charlotte knowing when he was lying as he did with her, but she also knew that he was stubborn and that if he was going through all this trouble to get rid of her, then she should go._

_"You're upset," Derek said as he walked down the hall in the house._

_He was used to coming and going as he pleased, Charlotte making a noise that he heard as clear as if he was in the same room as her. She was so fed up with him and she didn't want him to be there even though part of her was twisting in pain just thinking about walking out that door like she had planned on walking out. Still, Charlotte wanted a pack and she wanted to be an Alpha and Derek pushing her away just further cemented her want to be out on her own being a wolf and just a wolf._

_"No, I'm not," Charlotte said sarcastically._

_Derek took a deep breath. "I just need you to stop mothering me."_

_"I'm not mothering you, Derek! God forbid all I wanted was to be around you!" Charlotte told him angrily, looking at him as he came to her door. "I just wanted to be around you! Someone who gets it! Someone who knows! My friend!"_

_"You're just overbearing sometimes," Derek found himself saying._

_"And you're an ass," Caroline responded nodding._

_Derek nodded at that. "Yeah…I kind of am…"_

_"So I'm leaving," Charlotte told him. "I have to leave."_

_The admittance had Charlotte feeling a little better about herself and Derek knew that no matter what happened, he had to make sure that she didn't leave this room. Perhaps being part of a pack— **making** a pack—was important to Charlotte, but then she would leave him and he couldn't deal with that. Derek didn't want to be without her and her getting a pack meant that he was being discarded and she would have a new 'family' to protect. So he closed the door as he entered the room and shook his head, Charlotte narrowing her eyes at him._

_She didn't want to leave Derek either, but he was making it really hard for her to give a rat's ass about him right now. All Charlotte wanted to do was embrace the werewolf inside of her and after what happened to the Hales and after everything she'd been going through, she just wanted to have a pack…have another family. Derek understood that, but at the same time he was afraid that the moment she became an Alpha, she'd leave for good and he'd never see her again. He couldn't handle the thought of her never coming back…ever._

_"You're just going to leave?" Derek asked her._

_Charlotte nodded at him. "Yeah…I'm off to challenge an Alpha and take his place and then create my own pack. It's what I've always wanted."_

_"Then you will what…?" Derek inquired, nearing her. "Be better off?"_

_"This is what we are, Derek—we were born into this," Charlotte responded like he should know that. "We should be trying to be what we are and you know it."_

_"You're an idiot," Derek told her angrily._

_Charlotte glared at him. "You're an ass."_

_"You have a family!"_

_"So do you! We were your family! How dare you?!"_

_Derek scoffed at her which just made her slap him, all of that anger building up inside of her again because seeing him again had been such a blessing. Now he was being an ass and she was done and then out of nowhere, before she knew it, Derek had her pinned to the wall in her room, Charlotte giving him her best bitch face. When she pushed on him it was with a little more force than normal, Derek smirking at her as she fought back. It was almost like they were kids again, only then it was playful and happy and she still always beat him at wrestling._

_"Don't start with me!" Charlotte told him, eyes flashing at him. "This isn't a fucking game!"_

_Derek shook his head. "Stop acting like I hate you!"_

_"Then why are you pushing me away?!" Charlotte asked angrily, throwing her hands up in the air. "We used to be friends! We used to tell each other everything!"_

_"I can't have you close to me…" Derek told her firmly._

_"WHY?!" Charlotte asked him yelling._

_Derek lunged for her then, lips colliding into hers, heart racing. Charlotte was confused and pushed him off at first, eyes searching his for answers as she took deep breaths and tried to figure out what it was that was happening. She felt like her emotions were being toyed with at first, but she returned the kiss when Derek tried again because she'd always wanted to kiss him again. When they were little she had kissed him and he'd kissed her back, but they were little and as they grew up, she was madly in love with him and then seeing him again? Not what she had thought that it would be like._

_Still, she kissed him feverishly, hands immediately going to his belt, her heart racing even faster because this was Derek Hale and this…was new for her. She was far from a prude, but she was also a virgin, regardless of the kinds of things she'd been involved in that most virgins weren't. Derek wasn't sure about that or not as they hadn't really talked about it, but one thing was for certain: when this night was over, she would be marked as his to other wolves. That in itself was worth it._

_"You don't really—"_

_"—yes I do."_

_Charlotte was worried that Derek didn't really want to do this because it was something he wanted, but rather something that he thought he had to do to keep her, but Derek **did** want it. He wanted to be with her and it was making him a little angry that she didn't think that and so he went for her shirt as his rough kisses made it to her neck, groping to get her shirt off. She complied, moaning a little as she raised up her arms and let him get the shirt off, his head moving down to her chest, hot breath on her breasts before he pulled back. For a moment she thought he was stopping, but he pulled his shirt off too, showing her his toned torso and crooning gently as she ran her nails along his pecks._

_Derek reached his hand out to cup her face, fingers slipping into the golden locks he was so fond of, pulling her in for a kiss. It was passionate and intense, both of them moaning into each other's mouths before Derek realized that Charlotte was slipping his belt out and unfastening his pants, chuckling a little bit when she pushed them down and he felt them around his ankles. Then she shimmied out of hers and just like that his back was against the mattress and she was on top of him, hand slipping down his body._

_When she reached her intended target, Derek growled and arched himself against her hand, mind going blank as she started to rub him with the palm of her hand. She was watching his every move with a smirk on her face, kissing down his jaw to his chin and biting playfully before nipping down to his peck, letting her tongue swirl around his nipple. He was putty in her hands right now as she gasped the length of him, running her hand up and down, nipping at the muscle under her tongue. When she pulled back though, to get her bra off, Derek regained some control of his thoughts and flipped them over, getting in between her legs and nipping down her body instead._

_She tilted her head back against the pillows, feeling Derek's breath between her legs before she felt his tongue and it was her time to blank out. Charlotte was instead only a writhing body and audible sounds, Derek bringing her over the edge before any of the real fun had even began, smiling as she fisted the sheets, knuckles white, chest heaving. Just like that he was on top of her again, mouth to hers, moaning hungrily as her tongue explored his mouth, tasting herself on him and flipping them over. She didn't like being submissive and Derek was only vaguely aware of what was happening when she took in the tip of his member, biting his lip a little hard._

_It wasn't hard enough to draw blood, but she was in slight pain—pain she could get through no problem because she'd honestly been through worse. Derek whispered her name when she took him in a little more, feeling her heat surround him inch by inch and wishing she wasn't dragging this out because he wanted all the way in. Not just inside of her, but part of her, and after his eyes flashed blue a moment, he growled, gripped her hips, and pulled her toward him, thrusting up to fill her to the hilt. She cried out, gripping his pecks with her claws, both of them assaulted for a moment by memories because their werewolf claws were out and when she clawed him, he clawed her right back._

_Derek's head tilted back as he moved his hips, thrusting up, the slippery sound like music to his ears, along with her pleased moans. Even when her hair ended up in his face for a moment, he just reached up and stroked it, tucking it behind her ears and kissing her, swallowing her moans and eliciting more with his tongue. Nothing felt quite like Derek Hale filling her up, stretching her a bit to fit and stroking her from the inside out. Thrusting in and withdrawing just to thrust in again, Derek was consumed by how she felt around him and then it happened…he surged right up into her spot._

_There was nothing gentle about the encounter either, except for the occasional kiss they placed to each other's mouths, Derek feeling a swell of pride when his name was on her lips as she toppled over. He whole body shuddered pleasantly as her nerves tingled, Derek finding his release shortly thereafter, spilling himself without a care in the world. It wasn't near her cycle so they were clear on that front, but after that, they would have to be far more careful and they knew that…right now it was just about them. They had beads of sweat covering their skin and their chest were heaving together as Charlotte collapsed gently against him, still on top as she had thwarted every attempt by him to flip her back over._

_Charlotte stroked Derek's hair a moment, laughing gently, Derek too because after that he couldn't feel anything but happy. Trying to take a deep breath, rolling off of Derek and onto her back, Charlotte smiled and ran her fingers through her hair as she looked at him and tried to think about what had just happened. Derek rolled over onto his side and leaned his head on her hand, arm propped up on the mattress as he looked at her, stroking her cheek with his fingers. They had just crossed over into new territory here and more than ever, Derek just wanted her to stay._

_"Do you really want to make a pack?" Derek asked her._

_She nodded gently, propping herself up on her arm too, face inches from his. "I want to understand what it's like to lead a pack…you could be part of it…"_

_"As like what?" Derek asked chuckling. "Your perfect Beta?"_

_"Sure…" Charlotte said, clamming up. "That's what I meant."_

_Suddenly Charlotte was a little jittery and she moved to roll out of the bed, Derek moving quick to put his hand on the other side of her, pulling her back in. Love was hard for him after everything Kate had done to him, but this was Charlotte…this was the girl that stood up for him in Elementary School and was there to hold his hand when his whole family was taken from him and the one that killed hunters for him when she thought he was in danger. Unfortunately, she was also lying to him right now and he wanted to put a stop to that._

_"You mean like…your mate?" Derek asked her slowly. "Mate to the Alpha of a pack?"_

_Charlotte looked Derek in the eye and took a breath. "Those weren't going to be my exact words…"_

_"You and me in charge of a pack?" Derek mused, nuzzling her nose with his. "Running off wherever we want to…training new wolves…"_

_"This is stupid…" Charlotte said suddenly, shaking her head. "You're only entertaining the idea because I'm all that you have left, not because you really want it. We're not even in a relationship and this was the first time we had sex—it's an orgasm high. Mating as a wolf? That's a really big deal and you might change your mind later."_

_Derek nodded slowly and then kissed her, catching her off guard. "Then we talk about it for awhile just…don't leave me."_

_Charlotte didn't know what she was signing onto when she agreed, but Derek was like a disease she was infected with and she didn't want to go, especially not now. So the two decided to try to make things work as a team, Derek even helping Charlotte to track down the psychotic Alpha she wanted to replace and Derek even had thoughts about killing the Alpha, but it would have made Charlotte way too angry with him. This was what **she** wanted and Derek would help, but she got the final blow and then she could assemble her very own pack the way that **she** wanted to._

_When they tracked him down, he looked at her with those menacing red eyes and Charlotte snarled at him, going into her wolf form and fighting him while Derek fought off a Beta and an Omega for her. There were only three in the pack now because Hunters were trying to exterminate them and for some reason, Charlotte had felt a slightly personal need to do vengeance and Derek was more than happy to oblige her—he knew that she would kill to protect her own if she had to. Wolf or not she was a mother bear and only when Charlotte looked like she might lose did Derek intervene._

_He had taken the Omega down no problem—lone wolves weren't as strong, even though they were also stronger in a pack—and then the Beta was giving him grief when he felt the surge of adrenaline. Charlotte was doing just fine on her own, fighting the wolf and surprisingly even herself, but soon it scratched her all the way down her side and threw her into a tree, Derek feeling like something bad was going to happen to her and it was as if he was renewed with energy to fight. He went for the Alpha, snarling at him, eyes blue, only to get himself scratched in the face and just like that it was really all over because then Charlotte was really mad._

_Lunging at the Alpha, she dug her teeth into his throat, ripping at the flesh with her canines and actually enjoying it more than she should have. When the Alpha's heart stopped beating, Charlotte tried to take deep breaths looking at Derek as she found herself morphing back into a human, wiping the blood off of her mouth as the other Beta just stood there, looking at her. He was going to attack her, but then she killed the Alpha and when she looked at him with her eyes red like that, an Alpha, he just backed down and then he ran away. The Beta wasn't about to be part of Charlotte's new pack, and she and Derek hadn't even coped with all of this yet._

_"You're an Alpha…" Derek said nodding._

_Charlotte smiled and flexed her fingers. "It feels really good, actually…better than I thought that it would. I feel stronger, and in need of mouthwash and some pie."_

_"You want pie?" Derek asked her kinking his eyebrows at her._

_"I **like** pie, Derek…I even **love** it," Charlotte responded with a shrug. "Shower and mouthwash first."_

_Derek nodded at her and from that point on the two of them made sure that they were together and he even helped her to pick people to put in their pack. He didn't turn them, he let Charlotte do it, but he was her mate and he was with her through thick and thin…at least until the issue with the pack had happened and then Derek had to leave. He had his reasons—or excuses—and Charlotte was left on her own, both of them needing the space but hating it all at the same time._

They had an intense bond and when they were close it was hard to stay away…something that they had been dealing with for a long while now. When they were far apart they missed each other, and right now they had to train Scott together and it was almost like the past was repeating itself because even though he wasn't in their pack, he was a wolf and he needed help and protection. Derek was afraid that Charlotte was going to mother him though, and so that meant that the two of them had to have a little talk and Charlotte knew it was coming when she smelled him outside her house.

She went over to her window and opened it up. "Derek…what exactly are you doing here?"

"I came to tell you that we're doing this my way this time," Derek said nodding.

"So even after saving your life you're making me ease up on training?" Charlotte asked him.

"Yes, pretty much," Derek responded with a smile.

Charlotte rolled her eyes. "If I need to mother him, I'm gonna mother him. Good cop, bad cop."

"We both know that you're bad cop," Derek said laughing.

"No, I'm good cop, I just screw bad cop…" Charlotte winked and then shrugged. "Well, I used to. I don't really do that anymore sans the pent up sexual tension from being apart so long before bad cop came back into town. I probably could if I wanted to and come the full moon, you'll be wanting me pretty bad because you can smell me from a mile away."

Derek smirked a little because if he didn't know any better, he would think that this was some kind of foreplay and he knew Charlotte pretty well. What he didn't understand was why she was choosing to do this here and now and yet with having to see Kate and training a wolf, Charlotte was probably thinking about hers and Derek's past as much as Derek thought about it. Especially in this time being with her and seeing her so distraught with him being close to death, she had to be dwelling on it like he was because that look in her eyes…

"That's kind of our problem, isn't it?" Derek asked her slowly.

Charlotte laughed a little and raised her eyebrows. "My wonderful smell?"

"Our bond…the way we like to go at it during the full moon when our emotions are the most intense? We're mates, Charlee. We're connected." Derek admitted nodding. "Everything about you enamors me but we both know that we're a weakness to each other."

"I think that it helps give us focus—something to fight for," Charlotte replied chewing on her lip. "I wanted to be your mate because I knew that together we could accomplish anything and guess what? This isn't any different. If need be, we'll need a pack and I need to know that you're in—that you're _all_ in, Derek."

Derek paused a moment and then looked her in the eye from the ground. "I'm all in."


	6. Part of the Pack

Ever since Charlotte had been trying to figure out more in Stiles' personal life, she realized that she'd really been avoiding the most important part of being back: reconnecting. She hadn't even had time to go and see Caroline, Scott McCall's twin sister, except for the one time after she was scratched by the Alpha and to be honest, she had thought that Caroline was going to turn. When she didn't seem to be healing though, at least like a werewolf should have been, Charlotte figured that everything would be just fine, but she wanted to see Caroline for herself today.

"Is she even answering?" Phasmi asked as Charlotte put her shoes on.

Charlotte shook her head. "No, and that's odd. You know, even though we're not like the absolute best friends with the McCalls, I feel like we should visit them more and not just because Scott is now a werewolf and they need to be protected but…"

"But Stiles is sleeping with Caroline," Phasmi finished for her, biting into an apple. "Yeah, seems like we should be better acquainted with the girl our cousin is sleeping around with."

"I agree with you on that—besides, Stiles says that her scratch hasn't really been healing all that entirely well." Charlotte frowned, chewing on her lip. "I might have to check it because the hospital let her go home and now she's having issues."

"Just make sure that she's alright," Phasmi told her with apple in her mouth. "I actually really like her and she'd make a much better werewolf than Scott."

Charlotte laughed a bit because she knew that Phasmi really wasn't all that excited about Scott being a werewolf because she thought he was bad at it. While none of them wanted Scott to actually be part of the Alpha's pack, he was really bad at actually letting anyone help him and he was really emotional…kind of like Charlotte but Charlotte had people helping her and so did Scott, he just didn't really want help. Even knowing that he needed help, he was resisting and that didn't make it very easy to teach him because he didn't actually want to be taught.

More than once Charlotte tried to even bring Caroline into it, knowing that Scott wanted to protect his family, but Scott didn't trust Derek. It bothered Charlotte even though she knew she couldn't force anyone to trust Derek, and this was Derek's turn to get to train someone and Charlotte didn't want to take it all away from him since for Derek this was revenge. He was the one that had lost his sister and Charlotte knew that had she ever lost Phasmi, heads would rolls and blood would be split and this was how Derek got to partially get his own revenge by thwarting the Alpha.

"Well, should she choose to be one…" Charlotte responded with a gentle shrug.

Phasmi laughed a bit. "Once an Alpha, always an Alpha."

"Actually, yes," Charlotte laughed too. "I get to be an Alpha for as long as I am alive and that's a really nice feeling…I just need to stay alive."

"Having seen you in action, I don't think that's actually really hard for you to do." Phasmi told her sister with a proud smile. "You're a really good werewolf."

"I'm a kickass werewolf, I agree," Charlotte grinned nodding. "I am, however, worried about Care…"

Phasmi was worried too since she had been getting a little more ansty and jumpy as of late, but she was certain that Caroline would prevail. She was strong and with Charlotte in her corner, she would be able to get through anything that she set her mind to get through. They knew that Caroline was antsy and with that wound, Caroline thought that something was off but she really just wanted to see if anything had gotten better not just for Stiles, but for Caroline. It wasn't like they weren't friends with her family and Charlotte remembered what things had been like before.

_"Charlotte!" Mrs. McCall exclaimed opening up her arms._

_"Melissa!" Charlotte responded, hugging her close._

_They were acquainted with each other and the hug was just to prove to Mrs. McCall that they were all still close and Charlotte still cared. She and Melissa also worked together at the hospital so they saw each other a lot, and more than once Charlotte had talked to her about all sorts of things that weren't only work related, but personal. Still, she hadn't been entirely expecting Charlotte to even see Caroline because she hadn't been allowed on the case in the first place when it had all happened._

_At a party, Caroline had been with her best friend, Lydia Martin, and she had been in a car accident, attacked by the Alpha. Derek had told her about it when it happened and Charlotte had looked into it, even getting in once when Caroline was sleeping to really see if the wound was as deep as she thought that it was. Charlotte had been sure at the time that Caroline was going to turn because the wound was pretty deep, but it just wouldn't heal the way it should when one was a wolf._

_"How is Care?" Charlotte asked as she pulled back._

_Melissa frowned a little. "She's been out of it since the accident."_

_"That makes sense," Charlotte said nodding. "It was an accident and she's probably got some mental scars that someone should talk to her about. At least everyone is there for her."_

_"Stiles has been really attentive and protective but hey—my children are his only friends." Melissa joked, smiling when Charlotte smiled too._

_"That cousin of mine is a real keeper," Charlotte said sincerely._

_While she didn't want to give away Stiles' secret, especially since he was so new to even knowing she was there and it wasn't Charlotte's place, she got it. Stiles had real feelings for Caroline and while Charlotte had no idea what was going on with them, she knew that Stiles was at least sexually active with her and as protective as he was, Caroline was important to him. She was important to a lot of people and Charlotte wanted her to be okay. Charlotte really was a mother bear and she had a habit of latching on, mothering, and having to be pried away to leave their side…_

_"Mind if I see her?" Charlotte asked knowing Caroline was there by her smell._

_Mrs. McCall smiled and nodded. "She's in her room, go right ahead."_

_"Thanks," Charlotte told her grinning and then she moved toward Caroline's room, running into Scott. "Hey there…"_

_"What are you doing here?!" Scott asked her accusingly._

_"Seeing your sister…" Charlotte told him shaking her head. "I know your family, remember? Just, uh…hey, do you know about—"_

_"—Stiles and my sister?" Scott interrupted her._

_Charlotte laughed and shook her head. "About how her injury is doing…"_

_She had a feeling that Scott knew about it, but she knew that Stiles hadn't thought about that because he hadn't even talked to Charlotte about it all. Still, werewolves had that pesky over active sense of smell along with over active other senses and Charlotte knew that if she knew, then Scott knew because at first everything was overwhelming. He was more than likely trying to keep everything 'normal' and waiting for Stiles or Caroline to tell him instead of calling them out, which could be honorable. If it was Charlotte, she would have made everyone pay for the deception, but it wasn't her problem._

_"She's…I'm worried about her," Scott admitted and then looked at his phone. "Stiles…"_

_Charlotte nodded and smiled at him. "Go hang out with my cousin and I'm going to check in on your sister and see if I can't fix her up."_

_"Good luck and thank you," Scott said sincerely._

_"My pleasure," Charlotte responded as he headed out._

_Smiling after him, Charlotte went to go and see Caroline, sitting with her and reminiscing before she experienced firsthand a freak out. Usually when you were scratched by a wolf, you got an onslaught of memories from that wolf and if the scratch was deep enough you could turn and her gash had been pretty big, but she didn't seem to be turning so maybe it hadn't been deep enough. Still, things could get better and so Charlotte told Caroline she'd be back and ended up getting swept up in other things._

Now, Charlotte was trying to figure out what to do about this new predicament and trying to figure out how to train Scott and she wanted to know what she was doing. She was an Alpha for God's sake and she really needed to get her stuff together and get Scott to get his stuff together because he was being really wishy washy about this and the full moon was coming. In fact, Charlotte kind of wanted to bring Phasmi into it all because during the full moon—at least during the day and right when the moon showed—she and Derek would probably be going at it. Charlotte was trying to figure out how she could avoid that, but she didn't think that she could because of their bond.

Shaking the thoughts away, Charlotte made her way over to the McCalls and smiled when she found out that Caroline was at home. She wasn't feeling very good and Charlotte was pretty sure that something was really wrong and Melissa didn't know quite what to do, but Charlotte had some ideas. As far as lycanthropy was concerned, you either died or you got turned and right now Caroline was in some sort of transition and her body couldn't handle it. Since she had the same genes as Scott, it meant that she was probably more than able to be turned her body was just trying to fight the infection off.

"You look like crap," Charlotte joked, coming into Caroline's room.

Caroline groaned and nodded. "I feel kind of weak."

"Any nightmares?" Charlotte asked her.

"Are they nightmares if you're awake?" Caroline retorted, looking at her from snuggled under her covers. "Because I see things when I'm awake too—what's happening to me?"

"I think…I think your body is trying to turn like Scott's did," Charlotte admitted slowly, sitting on the side of the bed and reaching out to stroke her hair. "Your forehead is clammy."

"Turn?" Caroline asked her curiously.

Charlotte nodded and looked Caroline in the eye, wishing the poor beautiful teenager wasn't so sick right now, but she was. She just seemed to be getting worse and worse and Charlotte was pretty sure that she knew the cure, but that would just make Scott angry with her and she was supposed to be helping to train him. Even so, if this was the only way to save his sister, then she was going to have to do that whether he liked it or not and just ask for forgiveness later. Technically it was like starting another pack though and she didn't want Derek to think that she was doing that without him or to spite him.

"Yeah, into a werewolf," Charlotte reiterated just in case and then paused when Caroline's eyes went wide. "Um…something tells me you didn't know that…"

Caroline looked like she was starting to freak out. "MY BROTHER IS A WHAT?! THOSE DON'T EVEN EXIST!"

"They…great," Charlotte said standing up. "Okay, look, your brother can't just suddenly get better over night. He got bitten and he turned and you got scratched by an Alpha like me only I'm not as psychotic, I promise. I can prove it, but really the only reason I'm telling you this is because your body can't cope with that deep a scratch and the only way to fix it is to turn you too."

"What if I don't want to be a werewolf?" Caroline asked her pointedly.

"Then you die," Charlotte told her slowly. "I'm not going to sugar coat it for you. Your immune system can't handle the battle raging inside of you and I can fix that. No more pain, no more hallucinations, just strength, power and agility. It will be hard at first, but you'll be part of my pack and I can train you—I've trained new wolves before. The only thing is…you can't tell anyone."

"Why would I tell anyone?!" Caroline asked her loudly, visibly not happy.

Caroline started to spit out words here and there about how this was nonsense and it was just Scott pulling her leg, but some of the things that Charlotte was saying were true. Scott was suddenly good at so much and acting strangely and then to top it all off, Charlotte showed Caroline her eyes and her teeth and Caroline knew that she wasn't lying to her. She'd known Charlotte practically all of her life and so…so she knew that Charlotte wouldn't be saying this if she didn't mean it and that meant that she really was dying and becoming a werewolf was the only way. Caroline hated when people worried about her and she didn't want to be a werewolf, but Charlotte looked so determined.

Charlotte looked Caroline in the eye and took a deep breath. "Care…do you want the bite?"

"I don't really have a choice, do I?" Caroline asked her.

Smiling Charlotte shook her head. "Not really, no—I'm not going to let you die."

Caroline sighed and thought it all over. "Strength, power and agility?"

"It makes everything a lot more fun if you can control it," Charlotte admitted smiling. "We just can't tell anyone for a lot of different reasons."

"Alright…I promise…" Caroline agreed after a pause. "It's going to hurt, isn't it?"

"Yes, and that wound will still take a little bit to heal because you got it from an Alpha, but it will go away and so should the hallucinations." Charlotte explained again. "I'll need your undivided attention for training though…promise me that. My pack is important to me."

Caroline nodded and sat up a little. "I promise."

"Okay then," Charlotte nodded as she took Caroline's arm and her eyes flashed, her canines extending, "close your eyes and I'll tell you when it's over…"


	7. Challenge Accepted

Charlotte woke up that morning with a smile on her face, stretching and then sitting up laughing because she had felt her sister come in. Caroline seemed to be making a recovery because now the lycanthropy was winning out and helping her to heal, now a Beta and that made Caroline stronger too because she was the Alpha, and Charlotte felt good about it. Phasmi was all decked out and looked pretty happy too, sitting on the edge of Charlotte's bed and wringing her hands together. The two talked about a lot of things—they were practically joined at the hip—and for a moment or two they just sat there in silence until Phasmi spoke up. She had just been trying to word it all in her head and when she finally thought that she had the right words to say, they were spilling out of her mouth.

"Are you and Derek going to make another pack?" Phasmi asked quickly.

The smiled was wiped right off of Charlotte's face. "Um…why?"

"Well, come the full moon you two won't really be able to stay away from each other," Phasmi reminded her shrugging. "You're going to be going out of your mind because you're an Alpha and because the full moon is around your cycle so you'll be doubly crazy and once Derek kills this Alpha you guys can make a new pack since we both know you bit Caroline, so you could even just turn people and make a pack of your own and I'm in."

"What…what makes you think that Derek is going to kill the Alpha? He told Scott that if Scott did it then he might be able to not be a werewolf anymore and that's a legend, but maybe…" Charlotte said slowly, but she and Phasmi both nodded. "He wants to be an Alpha."

"He wants to be your equal, there's a difference." Phasmi responded with a smile. "You've been besting him at being a wolf for as long as I can remember and if he becomes an Alpha too…"

Charlotte nodded because it made sense to her—she and Derek had this bond together but part of him had always wanted something so much more. When she was the Alpha he had entertained ideas about his own pack, but his place was by Charlotte's side training the Betas and maybe he had resented it at some point and she had just really never known. All that mattered right now, though, was making sure that she found the Alpha and kept her family protected—kept Derek protected. In fact she would rather be hunting down Kate or training Caroline than hunting down the Alpha, but the Alpha was her number one priority right now.

Phasmi even had a feeling that she knew what it was that her sister was thinking about and she understood too because Charlotte always thought about Derek. She thought about her family and her friends and ever since what had happened with her pack and with Derek leaving, she'd been focusing more on everyone else than on herself and it was part of why she was so much more dedicated to Nursing than she had been before. Charlotte had had to get back into it and right now she was dealing with all sorts of things that had nothing to do with werewolves, but that was part of the problem too.

"Did you just say you wanted to be part of the pack?" Charlotte said saddening, raising her eyebrows.

Phasmi nodded slowly. "Yeah…I know I said I didn't want to be because I wanted to see if Dad would come back, but I just…I know you still have one outside of Caroline."

"What are you talking about?" Charlotte asked her after a pause.

"Come on, Charles, I know you and I know that even after what happened, you turned people." Phasmi took a deep breath. "I won't tell Derek, but let's be honest here because you are much stronger than anyone thinks you are and you know it, you just need to get them back if they're still out there and not just roaming Omegas. If you find this Alpha…are you going to let him kill it?"

"If that's what he wants," Charlotte admitted with a gentle smile. "He's my mate and it's not just that. If he wants to be an Alpha and create a pack then I'm going to be right by his side just like he was right by mine all that time. Whatever happens, happens, but right now we need to protect Scott and if you want to be part of the pack, I don't see why you can't be—I always wanted you to be."

Pausing a moment, Phasmi spoke up again. "Are you going to tell Derek about turning Caroline?"

"I'll find a way to tell him eventually…I'm just worried he's going to think I'm trying to remake a pack and we both know that was a little bit of a sore spot with us to begin with."

Phasmi smiled and nodded, getting out of it exactly what she had wanted out of it and taking her leave of her sister so that Charlotte could get ready to face the day. So she took a shower, halfway through sensing Derek and wondering why he was even there when she had seen him the night before, but she hurried through her shower and started to blow dry her hair with her towel wrapped around her when she knew he was coming up the stairs. He leaned on the door frame in the doorway and smirked as his eyes traveled up and down her body, making her laugh a little and shake her head.

"No, Bad Cop," Charlotte told him. "My mother is around and I'm surprised she even let you up. In fact come the full moon, I am fully going to resist you."

Derek chuckled and nodded. "Good luck with that. It's instinct to seek each other out, especially when we're this close to each other."

"Obviously we should try harder," Charlotte suggested shrugging.

"We could, but that sounds like a game…" Derek said slowly.

"We like games," Charlotte winked, trying to walk past him.

Derek stuck his arm out though, Charlotte raising her eyebrows and looking at him because while it was kind of sexy him trying to take control, she didn't actually have time for this. Then he went to drop her towel and she put her hands on his and shook her head, smirking at him and biting her lip, giving him those eyes she was so good at giving him. Sometimes Derek hated himself for her having this kind of control over him, but he agreed to be her mate all those years ago and he smiled a little bit because she was obviously playing with him. She was actually being truthful before when she said that they liked games because they really did.

_"I've been thinking about it all," Derek told Charlotte one day._

_She had come over to tell him that her father was getting ready to leave because he didn't like how things were unfolding and Charlotte didn't care. He had been drifting from them for a while now and Charlotte wanted her own pack and she wanted to be with Derek and she wanted Derek to want the same things even if her father didn't approve. So when Derek told her he'd been thinking about everything, Charlotte didn't really know if that was a good thing or a bad thing and she froze, Derek coming up to her and pressing his lips to hers._

_"What?" Charlotte asked breathlessly when he pulled back._

_Derek smiled at her. "I want to be your mate. We're an amazing team and this pack—our pack—I want to run it with you the proper wolf way."_

_"So…come the next full moon, we make it official?" Charlotte asked slowly, wrapping her arms around Derek's neck. "I make you my mate and then you and then we have an even stronger bond—are you sure? That's a lot of me to deal with. I mean—"_

_Charlotte was cut off by Derek's mouth on hers, smiling and moaning into the kiss before she started to nip at his lips with her teeth and it was just a chain reaction from there. They already surrendered to each other's touch, but things with them were happy and light and they enjoyed the rough sex and the nuzzling afterwards and just being who they were. Now Derek was taking another step with her and yet for some reason, neither of them could say 'I love you' and even if they felt love, they were more afraid of it being taken away from them than anything else._

"Don't bite your lip like that," Derek told her, leaning in and giving her a look when she pulled back. "I want to do it…"

Feeling lust start to pool in her stomach at the statement, Charlotte shook her head. "It wouldn't be appropriate…"

"More like you don't think that you'd be able to resist me if I did it," Derek pointed out, pressing Charlotte to the door and smirking. "You don't want to resist me either…"

"We have training to do today," Charlotte responded, pushing him off. "I will resist you up to and through the full moon."

Derek chuckled and nodded. "Challenge accepted."

Smiling and pushing him out of the bathroom, Charlotte laughed a little and then looked at her phone as it rang, vibrating on the bathroom counter. It was Caroline and suddenly her heart beat faster out of fear Derek would find out and he could tell that she was nervous even from the other side of the door and he wanted to know why. There was something going on with her and he could tell something was off and with Caroline making that recovery so speedily—having turned so suddenly—and Derek started to feel the wheels turning in his head. He wondered if she wanted to train Caroline instead of Scott because Caroline seemed more likely to not need a firm hand and that made Derek actually smile because he would rather the tough pupil.

xx

Phasmi spent more time than she was willing to admit at the graveyard and it wasn't just because she was visiting the graves of people that she missed and loved. It was because Isaac Lahey worked there and she was more attracted to him than she was letting on because she was older. She and Charlotte were no longer in High School and Isaac was, so at first she had tried so very hard to _not_ be attracted to him, but she couldn't just turn these feelings off. Even when they talked she could sense the sparks flying between them and she already felt a kinship to him and wanted to tell him the truth about herself, but she was keeping it to herself because Charlotte would frown upon it.

The relationship, Charlotte would be okay with—she understood what it was like to have feelings for someone you never thought that you would—but when it came to her pack and her pack's protection she got more vicious than Derek. Honestly the only reason that anyone would refer to Derek and Charlotte as good cop and bad cop would be because Derek was so cold and calculated and when he trained wolves, he trained them and it was brutal. Charlotte was more coaxing even though she expected more than she probably should have from them and it was the fact that both views worked so well together that their pack had been unbeatable…until the incident.

Shuddering as she thought about what had happened to the last pack, Phasmi put a smile on her face and she entered the graveyard. It was possible that someone would think that she was being insensitive because she was smiling when she was surrounded by graves of dead people, but she was going to get to see Isaac and tell her aunt about it…she missed her aunt. There was just so much in her life that she had lost and sometimes she felt close to everyone coming here and just sitting for a little while and that was when she had met Isaac.

_It was a cold night as Phasmi made her way through the graveyard to the grave of her aunt—Stiles' mother—setting out a blanket and then sitting on that because she didn't want to get her pants dirty. Then she pulled out a thermos and a sandwich and sat down cross legged on the blanket, looking at the gravestone and holding up the sandwich a little bit. Her water thermos held some hot mandarin orange spice tea with honey in it, and she smiled sadly at the grave as she let the chilled air hit her jacket._

_"It's our favorite sandwich," Phasmi said with a smile. "I figured it was fitting as I wanted to visit and I'm pretty much starving right now."_

_Isaac was on his shift, trying to be as far away from his father as possible, flashlight in hand as he walked around to make sure that there were no grave robbers out. He saw Phasmi sitting on the blanket and eating a sandwich while she talked out loud about her college classes, smiling a little bit because the blonde was attractive and yet…there was something strong and dangerous about her. She was werewolf and while he didn't know that, she still seemed kind of like a predator to him and yet he was completely drawn in by her._

_"It's okay, you can join me," Phasmi tossed over her shoulder as she smelled Isaac approach, turning to look at Isaac as he froze there with his flashlight drawn out now like a weapon even though he looked so timid. "I won't bite unless you ask me too," she teased gently. "You work here?"_

_Isaac nodded slowly. "Yeah…when my dad can't."_

_"Do you not like your father?" Phasmi asked him, noticing his heartbeat and breathing change when he mentioned him. "I don't much like mine either."_

_"How did you know that?" Isaac asked her, pausing his slow advance toward her._

_"The look on your face when you mentioned him," Phasmi responded as she stood up._

_She could tell that he was cautious and when she stood her took a step back, practically recoiling from her even though she hadn't made any sudden movements. It was only then that she mentioned the bruise on his jaw and she had a feeling that he didn't like his father because his father was not a very nice man. Even with his other step back though, Phasmi advanced and even put her hands up like she was surrendering until Isaac let her get close to him, his heart threatening to break through his chest as his mouth went dry and he froze in place. He tried to wet his lips and swallow as Phasmi leaned in closer to get a better look at his face in the moonlight, Isaac catching a waft of her perfume as the scent was carried on the wind._

_Isaac wasn't used to being this close to a girl and he knew for a moment that she was looking at his bruise and turned away, but she cupped his face with a gentle hand and turned him to face her, eyes smiling as her lips were. She looked him in the eye and he seemed to calm down a little bit even though his body was still in overdrive from the touch, and she moved her face in a little more, totally not in the least bit worried about being in his personal space. Phasmi even glanced at his trembling lips with a twinkle in her eyes before she looked back into his eyes and made him a genuine promise._

_"I would never hurt you,"_

While the statement had caught Isaac off guard and he hadn't even really gotten to respond to her because then she was off to collect her things and go back home, he got to see more and more of Phasmi now that she was back in Beacon Hills and he liked her. She talked to him and even kept it pretty short most times so he wouldn't get in trouble with his father for shirking his responsibilities and he knew that she knew that he beat him because she was intuitive. They had also even exchanged names, but he didn't think that it would last because of the age difference—why would she want to have anything to do with a High School student?

Regardless of what he thought about that, though, Phasmi liked him too and had even taken to bringing along a bigger blanket and food and tea for him to share with her. He'd made his way to sitting with her to talk for more than ten minutes at a time and tonight he was even to her aunt's grave before she got there by a couple of minutes, looking a bit antsy. His relationship with his father never got any better and sometimes he fantasized that Phasmi would take him away from all of it, but even trying to talk to her about things like that scared him because he didn't want her to leave.

"My sister forced me to bring hot chocolate tonight," Phasmi announced when she got there.

Isaac smiled and shrugged. "I like hot chocolate."

"So do I, I just wanted my tea," Phasmi admitted with a sigh. "You seem more jumpy than normal…is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine," Isaac lied quickly.

"Everything is not fine," Phasmi responded as she set the blanket out for them.

It was mostly because she was a werewolf and she could tell that he was lying to her, but she knew his jittery behavior well enough these days to know this had something to do with his father. Sometimes she wished his father could have some sort of terrible accident, and other times she actually thought up ways to kill him herself and make it look like an accident…she even kind of wanted to kill him come this next full moon. After all, Charlotte would be focusing attention on herself, Phasmi and Caroline after dealing with Derek, and Phasmi could kill if she wanted to.

She didn't make it a habit of doing such things, but she thought she could make an exception for Isaac and tonight she just wanted to make the most of it without his father interfering. Besides, she could deal with it later, right now was about making Isaac feel better and if that meant letting on that she had a crush on him then so be it…but no, she couldn't. If she couldn't tell him the truth then they couldn't be involved and so she was going to have to tell her sister even though she had liked keeping Isaac her little secret. Then again, Charlotte could always help her with his father…

"I still want to destroy him," Phasmi said when Isaac silently sat on the blanket with her, leaning her head on his shoulder and smiling when his heart raced a bit, but he relaxed to let her do it. "I don't like seeing you hurt."

Isaac smiled at that and nodded. "You're a good friend."

"Yeah," Phasmi replied slowly, her phone going off. "Hold that thought," she held her finger up and looked at her phone, sighing when she saw the text and looking Isaac in the eye, smiling before she kissed his cheek, smiling more at the blush it left in his cheeks. "I have to run, but I'll be back tomorrow night, okay?"

An attack on the video store was really the first thing that Charlotte and Derek got to experience with Scott. They were on top of the roof, Charlotte knowing the Alpha had been there and while there was something familiar about the smell, she still couldn't figure it out and she didn't know why that was. Normally she was really good at the hunting and the tracking because she was an Alpha and she and Derek used to practice it all the time, but something was keeping her from it and she wanted to know what it was. Either way, this was about teaching Scott and about protecting those that she loved the most, so she was just going to have to tough it out and she knew that.

"Starting to get it?" Derek asked Scott.

Scott paused a moment. "I get that he's killing people, but I don't know why. I mean, this isn't—this isn't standard practice, right? We don't go out in the middle of the night murdering people, do we?"

"No…we're predators, we don't have to be killers," Derek admitted, glancing at Charlotte. "Not unless we have a really good reason for it."

"Like protecting people that we love," Charlotte added as she looked Derek in the eye. "So what we need to find out, is why _he's_ a killer."

"Could he be female?" Scott asked slowly.

At first the question had blind sighted her because she and Derek had already had this talk with Scott about the Alpha, but at the same time she understood because she was off. This Alpha knew that she could track it and so it was going out of its way to make sure that she couldn't track it no matter how hard she tried to do just that. It bothered her, but at the same time if she was going to have a new pack then she was going to have to train again and while rusty she could do this and she knew she had to be assertive with the new wolf.

Charlotte looked down at him as he looked over the roof, Scott looking up at her. "Yeah, perhaps…but we have a different smell."

"You said your sense of smell for him was off," Scott told her pointedly.

"My sense of smell is just fine," Charlotte replied with a sigh. "What I need from you is focus because if you lose that, then you lose everything."

Derek nodded and then looked at Charlotte. "Are you ready to get off of the roof now?"

"If you're accusing me of mothering, you can stop now," Charlotte told Derek rolling her eyes. "Let's go."


	8. Training the McCalls

Charlotte, Scott and Derek headed for the burnt Hale house and Charlotte thought everything over as they went inside. She still didn't like that Derek spent the majority of his time here when he could have the guest room at her house and they could use the basement for a base of operations and yet…Derek wanted to be here so she had to respect that. On top of that, Phasmi wanted to use the basement to train Caroline and considering that Caroline actually wanted to be under control, and Charlotte wanted her under control because everything had changed.

Werewolves could sense and smell out each other and the moment that Caroline had turned, both Scott and Stiles went into a complete meltdown about it, but they thought it was the Alpha's fault. Derek was even behind them on that even though she felt a little different to him and when Charlotte didn't say a thing about it other than she needed training too, she knew that Derek would be onto her eventually. What she hadn't been expecting, was to be a pack leader again because even though she had always dreamt about starting over, this wasn't how she had dreamt it would go…she had always thought that it would be with Derek.

_"She **turned**!" Scott yelled angrily, in a room with Charlotte and Derek._

_Derek nodded and paced a little bit. "It was a deep scratch."_

_"This wasn't supposed to affect my family!" Scott continued, shaking his head._

_"I don't think it was entirely meant for you either," Charlotte chimed in, taking a deep breath. "What matters now is making sure that she's not in any danger."_

_"He's close to having a full pack," Derek said shaking his head. "Now he'll be after both of them."_

_"Then I help her," Charlotte responded a little too quickly. "I will take care of her and I'll also help you with Scott." Charlotte was saying until Stiles came in the room, all of them clamming up a little—it had been decided to leave Stiles out of this for more reasons than one. "It'll be like old times."_

_Scott didn't want Stiles to know about Caroline purely because he thought it was Caroline's place to tell him if she chose too and Charlotte certainly didn't want Stiles looking into it. He was so much smarter than he let on and she didn't want Stiles or Derek knowing that she was the one that really turned Caroline…not to mention she knew part of Scott's decision was because Scott was still upset that he could smell Stiles and Caroline on each other, but neither of them was telling him anything. Derek didn't really care one way or another if Stiles knew anything and had honestly only agreed because Charlotte thought it was best and he agreed with her on most things._

_Stiles made a face. "Just how long have you two been…doing the animal dance?"_

_Charlotte laughed when Stiles said that, Derek raising his eyebrows because the way that Stiles had worded it had made it sound kind of funny. She hadn't actually gone into any detail about what had happened between her and Derek to bond her to him like this, but she remembered all of it rather vividly as it had been an incredibly intense and arousing experience. Derek remembered it too and they both shared a look and a smile before Derek spoke up and gave him the shortest answer he could possibly give the 16 year-old boy and Charlotte just smiled._

_"Four years," Derek explained with a shrug._

_Charlotte bit her lip. "Four years on the sex, three years on the mate aspect of the relationship..."_

_"That's a long time," Stiles said nodding. "And you didn't think to mention it at any family function or anything?"_

_"That I was having sex? Um, yeah, no…" Charlotte laughed shaking her head._

_Scott then spoke up and told Charlotte to keep her word, to which Stiles inquired but she just waved it off and Derek left. Stiles still didn't like Derek much and really wished that he knew more about him at the same time since his cousin had been with him for so long and Stiles was protective of his cousins even though they were both older than him. When he opened his mouth to ask more questions though, Charlotte distracted him and took him home to his father before she went to go and see Caroline and see how she was coping._

"You know, I have a life too," Scott told them as Derek climbed the stairs.

Derek wasn't even phased. "No you don't."

"Derek…" Charlotte warned him shaking her head.

"Yes, I _do_!" Scott protested. "I don't care what you say about him making his pet, or—"

"—part of his pack," Derek corrected him.

"Whatever!" Scott exclaimed angrily. "I have homework to do! I have to go to a parent-teacher conference tomorrow because I'm failing chemistry! All I want to know from you two is how to protect my sister and to get my homework done! There's two of you!"

Derek looked at Scott. "You want to do homework? Or do you want to…not die?"

Charlotte nodded, but the moment she heard what Derek said, she sighed loudly because this wasn't going well and Scott didn't seem to get that this was more dangerous than he even knew. When Derek tried to explain that it was a rite of passage, however, she just sighed because Scott was more interested in graduating High School and Derek was getting upset. When Derek got upset and frustrated, he had a tendency to get a little violent and Charlotte really wanted him to not get that way with Scott right now.

"This is easier for you than it is for us," Charlotte tried to explain calmly, Derek and Scott both looking at her. "You're the one with the strongest connection to the Alpha so it has to be you. We have to teach you to control your abilities since the full moon is less than a week away and when you are more in control, you can find him— _you_ can sniff him out…literally."

Scott nodded slowly. "So if I help you find him, then you two can kill him."

"Absolutely," Charlotte said as Derek said, "Not alone."

"Derek…" Charlotte chastised, but he kept going.

"We are stronger in numbers. The pack makes the individual stronger." Derek explained to him.

Scott sighed again. "How am I supposed to help if I don't know what I'm doing?"

"Okay, stop with the stupid questions," Charlotte said suddenly, surprisingly all of them. "Are Derek and I standing around trying to teach you or what?"

Derek nodded as Scott nodded too and then in order to prove his point about how Scott always changed back to human when he was in pain—it kept him human—he grabbed Scott's wrist and wrenched his arm to break it. Charlotte moved to stop him, but Derek put his hand up and she sighed, closing her eyes and shaking her head because it really was like the olden days. They were good cop, bad cop and while she thought that Derek's methods had merit and she let him use them, she was certainly a more mothering type and she preferred lecturing and experience to just the breaking bones.

"It'll heal," Derek told Scott.

Scott glared at him. "It still hurts!"

"Maybe you will survive…" Derek said as he motioned to Scott's healed up arm before he walked away.

"I'll take you home," Charlotte offered with a gentle smile.

"I don't understand what you see in him," Scott shook his head, heading for her car.

Charlotte smiled and nodded. "I can't explain it, I just…you know how you feel with Allison? How looking at her makes your stomach feel like there are bricks in it? How it makes your heart race and you feel queasy in that really good way?"

"Are you saying that you love him?" Scott asked as she unlocked the car.

Just like that, Charlotte paused and then she changed the subject and drove Scott home, asking about Caroline and smiling when Scott said she was doing pretty well. Of course he had no idea about Charlotte seeing her earlier that day and helping her out, but he was touched that Charlotte cared so much about them as people. Derek did too, he just showed it like a papa bear and for a moment Scott actually understood how Derek and Charlotte fit together and it was obvious that they both cared enough about each other to protect each other and what they both held so dear.

_"Caroline?" Charlotte asked as she came into the house. "You're supposed to be at school…"_

_Caroline shrugged a little bit. "Mom's at work, Scott is dealing with his own stuff, so I said I was sick and I came home. This is…this is really crazy."_

_"Overwhelming?" Charlotte inquired as she took her leather jacket off to reveal tight jeans and a low cut top. "At the beginning it's hard to focus when all you're doing is, smelling everything and hearing everything, but if you find a center, you can handle it."_

_"You're dressed to impress…" Caroline said wiggling her eyebrows. "Are you and Derek an item?"_

_Charlotte laughed and took a seat. "Way to change the subject—you definitely belong in this pack. Phasmi and I change the subject a lot to avoid conflict but this is important. Besides, I'm sure Stiles blabbed it to you already."_

_"Why would Stiles do that? I hate him," Caroline lied, looking at her chemistry book._

_"I'm a werewolf, Care—an Alpha—I know when you're lying and I can smell him on you," Charlotte explained shrugging._

_"Oh my God!" Caroline exclaimed, looking at Charlotte. "Then Scott knows too!"_

_When Charlotte nodded, Caroline made a face and laid back against her bed, not wanting to deal with any of this at all because it had been perfect. She and Stiles had a whole pact to pretend like they hated each other and see each other in secret because Lydia was her best friend and Scott was his best friend and while Caroline felt something more, she was too stubborn. Caroline had a bit a troubled history with men and she didn't want to be second best to Lydia so the arrangement was working just fine until Scott became a werewolf and then she did._

_"If it helps, Derek and Scott think the Alpha turned you and we all agreed not to tell Stiles," Charlotte told her nodding._

_Caroline nodded too. "Good…I don't want him to know and try to baby me."_

_"We Stilinskis do like to smother with affection and protection," Charlotte laughed, shrugging. "I mean while I'm a Graceland, my mother was a Stilinski—it's in our blood. Back to the subject at hand though, you want to control it right?"_

_"More than anything," Caroline admitted, sitting up. "I can't go through school with this headache and looking like a lunatic for not being able to focus because I'm bombarded with everything."_

_"Find your center," Charlotte said, laughing when Caroline rolled her eyes. "I'm repeating myself, I know, but it's true."_

_Caroline took a deep breath. "What's your center?"_

_"Derek," Charlotte responded without skipping a beat. "I think of him and I can calm myself down really well and keep my humanity. Even when I'm mad at him, thinking about the good times keeps me focused and helps my heart rate to drop enough to control myself. You might want to try thinking about Stiles…"_

Thinking on it, Charlotte found herself getting ready for bed, getting under her covers and snuggling in before grabbing the book off of her bedside table and cracking it open. She had time to read a couple of chapters, besides, she knew that hers and Derek's challenge was still on the table and it annoyed her that she couldn't go very long without thinking about him. It was getting worse and worse and come the full moon she had to make sure not to seek him out because she probably would and that in itself told her to just turn in now and go to bed. Tomorrow was another day and so she turned off her lamp after placing a book mark in her book and her book on the nightstand, and turned over to go to sleep.

Once she was really close to sleep, she could feel the weight shift on her bed and while she stiffened at first, she knew it was Derek and instead she only squirmed. She went to push him away from her because his touch sent shivers up her spine in the most pleasant way, but he pinned her to the bed and when she squirmed he just pushed back on her, letting his head dip. It wasn't part of the game and it was completely unfair so she tried to flip them over but she couldn't—she didn't know why she couldn't, but all she could do was squirm under his touch and croon.

Derek smirked that smirk that sent her into overdrive and let his teeth tug at the tank top she was wearing so he could better attack her breasts with his teeth. Then she felt his fingers slip down her body to the waistband of her pajama pants, arching up into him and biting her lip to stifle a moan as she felt his fingers slip between her legs and she just parted them for him. He could do anything to her that he wanted to, but as she felt his finger start to push in, she felt herself shudder with a start, panting heavily as she leaned back against her pillows.

She had just had a rather hot and heavy dream about Derek and woke up with beads of sweat on her brow, so it was totally not okay and she wanted to get down to the bottom of it because he could have been in and then out easily. It had just felt so real and she was certain that he had been there and she had just passed out but no, it was a dream though, right? Regardless of what it really was, she took a cold shower and then got dressed to go and see him, going straight there and letting herself in.

"Did you come into my room last night and…do things to me?" Charlotte asked Derek, actually a little flustered.

Charlotte hadn't actually noticed what it was that she had done, but Derek could tell that she was dressed up a bit, tight jeans and a low cut red top that he really liked. In fact he was feeling as aroused as she was considering he could smell it on her and he knew that if it was this bad for her right now, then it was going to be even worse come the full moon. They weren't going to be able to make it through this and Charlotte was definitely going to cave come the full moon and Derek was more than alright with that. Actually, Derek would probably lord it over her for as long as they lived even though he would really love it and he knew she would too.

Derek smirked, smelling the scent wafting off of her. "You're very turned on right now."

"I'm going to slap that cheeky smirk off your face," Charlotte responded as she felt her heartbeat quicken as he took his shirt off. "Why are you undressing?! Just answer the question!"

"I was getting ready to do a workout when you rudely barged in just now, and I was at home all night after you took Scott home," Derek said, smirking again. "You're having sex dreams about me already."

Charlotte rolled her eyes. "I can last out past the full moon."

"That was a lie," Derek said pointedly before he put his hands on the top of the door and started to do pull-ups. "Feel free to stay if you want."

"Fine…but to _read_!" Charlotte responded, not even bothering to care if it was a lie or not at this point.

Right now, Charlotte wanted to be around him and so she sat down and realized rather quickly that she wasn't really reading at all. Instead, she was watching Derek's muscles relax and contract as he started to work up a sweat and he knew that she was watching, so he smirked because that lust in her eyes was unmistakable and he liked that she was looking—he loved it even. He knew that she at least wanted him physically and sexually and when he figured out how she felt emotionally about him, maybe he would tell her how he felt too. Maybe…after all it was best to keep his emotions close to the vest and this sex was part of being mates, it had nothing to do with love—actually it had everything to do with it but they didn't want to say it out loud.

Saying it out loud that they felt love for each other made it real and neither of them wanted to make it real when there was so much at stake and so much to talk about. Derek and Charlotte both had to stay focused for the McCalls' sakes because training them was the top priority with the full moon approaching and they had both been thinking about packs. They both thought that it was beneficial to make one again, Charlotte just felt like Derek wanted the reins on this one and Caroline was already connected to her so she'd be practically forcing him to join her pack again and what if he didn't want that? What if Derek wanted to create his own pack and he was just laying low until he was an Alpha and then he'd execute some hidden plan? It was a possibility.

"How's the book going?" Derek asked Charlotte cheekily.

Charlotte snapped out of her thoughts and stopped licking her lips, narrowing her eyes. "Oh, bite me!"

"I can't," Derek responded as he dropped to the floor and started doing push-ups, "you would like it far too much."

"What I would like is for you to put clothes on," Charlotte replied with a shrug.

"Yet another lie—you're on a roll with those today," Derek chuckled, switching to one handed push-ups with ease, not even looking at her. "In fact looking at me with your head cocked to the side like that and chewing on your lip is making even me start to forget that I'm trying to work out."

Charlotte sat up straight at that and stopped biting her lip. "The fact that you know me makes me really mad sometimes."

"Angry sex, kind of mad?" Derek teased with a cheeky grin.

"More like just the angry kind of mad—I am holding out until after the full moon!" Charlotte reminded him nodding vehemently.

"So we'll have sex _after_ the full moon then?" Derek asked laughing.

Charlotte opened her mouth to say something when they both stopped, aware of the sound and the smell and wishing they were better prepared for this. There were Hunters coming to the door right now and instead of making it out of there in time, they had to hide because they had been too busy flirting with each other to really be aware of their surroundings. What worried Derek the most though, was that Charlotte was more protective than normal and there was a person here that could make her very existence Hell but she'd welcome it if that meant protecting him and that made him love her all the more when he thought about everything she was willing to do for him because she loved him too. The person leading the Hunters to the front door could ruin his whole plan to keep Charlotte out of this and that made him a little angry.

Kate…


	9. I Promise

Phasmi wanted to know more about what was going on around Beacon Hills, and she wanted to know all about her cousin and his little tête-à-tête with Caroline. Caroline was now part of the pack and while they needed one more, Phasmi didn't want to know so she could convince Charlotte to induct him or anything…she wanted to know because she cared about her cousin and his happiness. So, she went to visit him at the school and saw him a little worried, which worried her.

"You okay?" Phasmi asked him, smiling a little bit.

Stiles smiled too when he saw her. "I'm just worried about Lydia."

"Aren't you always though?" Phasmi asked with a shrug. "This has to do with the Alpha she and Jackson saw doesn't it?"

"I want to know if they actually saw anything or not," Scott explained with a gentle shrug.

"So do Derek and Charlotte but they have their own things to worry about," Phasmi admitted nodding. "Take me with you maybe?"

Stiles thought about it a moment, but he nodded because he'd loved the company. It wasn't like he could deny that he had always loved Lydia from afar, but he had real feelings for Caroline even though she insisted that they had to hate each other outside of their arrangement. He was starting to get really fed up with it, honestly, but he didn't know if he could stop all together because he wanted to keep her safe and he wanted to be near her even though she was being distant.

"Thinking about Caroline?" Phasmi asked as she got into his jeep.

Stiles stiffened up and laughed awkwardly. "What? Come on, Phas. No. Why would you even ask that?"

"Just the pesky werewolf sense of smell," Phasmi responded, knowing Stiles knew all about how his aunt had been turned all those years ago and how his cousins were wolves.

"Oh yeah…OH MY GOD!" Stiles exclaimed, looking directly at her. "SCOTT KNOWS!"

"Of course he does, Dumbass," Phasmi replied laughing. "He's known ever since he became a wolf, he just wants to let you two do the right thing and go to him about it."

"Oh, this is bad," Stiles said as he turned the engine over. "This is so very, very bad, in so many different ways. He's going to rips me to shreds and use me as a chew toy!"

Phasmi laughed at the mental image and shook her head, knowing that Scott would never actually do any such thing to him, but it was funny to think about it like that as she knew that Scott would at least think about pretending he would. Of course he had to be disappointed, but there were so many more important issues at hand and she knew Scott could put it behind him for a little while should they just tell him what was going on. Right now though, their most pressing issue was Lydia as she had stayed home from school that day, and Charlotte and Derek had a pressing issue as well…Kate.

"Hide," Derek instructed firmly.

Charlotte nodded even though her first instinct was to attack Kate and rip her throat out, them being two against three and those were pretty good odds. Still, she didn't want Kate to know right now about her being a werewolf if she could help it and so she hid while Kate and the other two hunters barged right into the abandoned old house. Derek wanted them to go as quickly as they had come, but that was far too good to be true because Kate came to play awhile and neither Derek nor Charlotte especially liked that idea.

Kate just liked to toy with her prey before she ended them, unless it was like the fire and then she just killed to kill…and of course it hurt Derek and he was her favorite play thing. Her past with Derek was complicated and yet so very simple, and Charlotte was never going to get over it even though she knew it was harder for Derek to. It had all happened to him personally, but what he had never really understood until it had sunk in, was that Charlotte had his back in all things and when he was going through Hell, she was going through it with him.

"No one home," one of the hunters said.

Laughing gently, Kate looked at him. "Oh, he's here, he's just not feeling particularly hospitable."

"Maybe he's out, burying a bone in the back yard," the other hunter suggested, Kate looking at him with disdain on her face.

"Really? A dog joke?" She asked him, her words wiping the smirk off of the hunter's face. "We're going there and that's the best you got? If you want to provoke him, say something like…too bad your sister bit it before she had her first litter. Too bad she howled like a bitch," Kate paused as she stepped into the main area, raising her voice now, "WHEN WE CUT HER IN HALF!"

Charlotte had really hoped that Derek could hold himself back, but he couldn't and he growled like the wolf that he was, finding the hunter that made the dog joke first and throwing him, knocking him out cold. While she understood how bad the comments had hurt, and they had hurt her as well, Charlotte hadn't wanted to actually get into an altercation if she could avoid it and now she couldn't avoid it. If Derek was going to fight them, then she was going to fight them too, even if it exposed her because that didn't mean it had to expose Phasmi or her mother.

The other hunter circled around with his gun, Derek's teeth elongated and bared but his eyes not flashing even a little bit, jumping half naked off of the wall to the banister on the stairs, growling again before lunging. He jumped from the banister to the other railing and then to the top of the door frame he used for his pull-ups, kicking the other hunter square in the chest and knocking him out cold as well, Kate the only one left. Charlotte came down the stairs too, just in time to see Derek hesitate when he looked at Kate, Kate drawing her weapon as Derek lunged at her and getting shocked.

That made Charlotte growl, as Derek rolled onto his back in pain, trying to regain control, Kate looking over in Charlotte's direction and then looking at Derek. She hadn't been expecting Charlotte even though she recognized her and a lot of scenarios started to run through Kate's head as Derek shook his gently. He didn't want Charlotte exposed, but now she was, and Kate had her electric weapon out and Charlotte wasn't flashing her eyes either, but her teeth were bared and her claws were out. Charlotte was stronger, faster and smarter than Derek, but Kate was a seasoned hunter. The outcome could be anything and as Kate loved to play with her prey, her next move was something that Charlotte saw coming from a mile away…and it pissed her off.

Phasmi and Stiles were dealing with some issues of their own too, Lydia being too drugged to really give them any details about anything at all. Not only that, but then Stiles found a video recording of the Alpha on Lydia's phone and he had to do something with it, Phasmi telling him to delete it. They had no idea that at that exact same moment Kate had Derek and Charlotte right where she wanted them, but they did know that Scott wasn't answering his phone and it was making Stiles more worried than usual, so Phasmi gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

Kate reached out and zapped Derek again as he tried to get up, Charlotte running into the room and trying to get behind Kate so she could attack her from behind and get the vantage point. Instead, Kate kept spinning like she knew she was going to get taken by surprise, touching Charlotte with the weapon when Charlotte grabbed Kate by the hair like she was going to rip her head off—something that Charlotte had thought about doing many a time. At first Charlotte got the hair and even scratched Kate's arm, but the voltage caused by the weapon to her flesh made her fall to her knees, feeling the weapon again as she scratched Kate's leg.

"Looks like you have a play mate," Kate told Derek with a smirk on her face. "I can understand why too: you grew in all the right places. I don't know whether to kill it or lick it."

Charlotte shook her head slowly. "Go to Hell…"

"Not a very good comeback," Kate replied with a smile. "Charlotte, right? Derek talked about you quite a bit before I sunk my claws into him. He turn you? Some sort of weird wolf fetish?"

"I don't owe you an explanation about anything," Charlotte spat at her, head tilted back against the wooden floorboards before she started to move toward Derek.

"Puppy love?" Kate asked her.

"Dog jokes?" Charlotte shot back.

Kate laughed and let Charlotte and Derek both try to attack her again, laughing at their pain as she shocked them, smiling when they leaned up against the wall next to each other.

"900,000 volts," Kate said with a grin. "You never were good with electricity though, were you, Derek? Or fire, which is why I'm going to let you in on a little secret…"

Charlotte scoffed. "You didn't kill Laura? We know—the Alpha did it."

"Aren't you a firecracker?" Kate asked, leaning in toward Derek and moving to whisper in his ear. "We…didn't…kill…your…sister…and your new mate here? Is she your mate?"

"I'm a wolf and we're not helping you," Charlotte told him shaking her head.

"Why? Are you the Alpha?" Kate asked laughing.

Charlotte smiled a cheeky smile. "If I was, I'd have ripped your throat out by now and bathed in your blood. Then again, maybe I'm just playing with you."

"You found a replacement for me!" Kate said with fake excitement. "Good for you!"

"I'm nothing like you," Charlotte replied, moving to stand.

Kate nodded and eyed her because her strength outmatched Derek's. "No, you're not…because if you don't know the identity of the Alpha, then guess who just became totally useless and dead?" Kate asked them, turning to pull her gun on them.

Charlotte used her speed to help to give Derek a boost out of the house, Derek and Charlotte running away from the house far enough before Derek stopped and Charlotte stopped too. Derek hurt seeing Kate again and having her toy with him like that, also knowing he had very few places to go right now, Charlotte reaching out to touch him. She knew what he was going to accuse her of before he even said it, but she had to make sure that he was alright and he needed to understand that right then and there.

"Do not mother me," Derek said angrily.

Making a face, Charlotte took his face in her hands and made him look her in the eye. "I am not mothering you! I am worried about you! You are one of the most important people in my life and I will not lose you, Derek Hale! Do you understand me?!"

Her eyes were blazing into his and Derek swallowed, not knowing what to say but he knew he had to say something because she meant business here and he couldn't take her. Everything between them that day had started off flirtatiously and he knew that he wanted that back, but there was something else about this that was making him buckle…feel warm inside: the honesty. There was not an ounce of doubt in him that everything that she had just said was true and it made him think that she loved him and while that terrified him, it helped to calm him down for a moment.

"Charlee…" Derek said gently.

Charlotte shook her head. "I mean it…"

"I know," Derek replied as he reached his hands up hold her hands holding his face. "I know, and you're not going to lose me, I just…I was weak back there."

"Nothing about you is weak," Charlotte said shaking her head.

Derek opened up his mouth to say something else, but before he knew it, Charlotte's mouth was covering his and he decided to just drown in her. He slid his fingers into her hair and growled gently when she nipped at his lips, pulling back and resting her forehead to his, shaking her head when he opened up his mouth to speak again. She wanted them to get away from the Hale house before Kate and the other hunters came looking for them, needing to talk to her mother as well.

"Until further notice you're staying with me," Charlotte said, kissing him again and biting his lip when he tried to protest. "You don't have a choice. They're going to be staking this place out and I want you to be safe."

Derek nodded gently and then looked down. "I kind of need clothes…"

"Why do you need those?" Charlotte asked winking, trying to make the moment more playful as she pulled out her phone to text Phasmi, she and Derek headed to her house on foot. "I prefer you half naked, to be quite honest."

"You prefer me _entirely_ naked," Derek laughed, enjoying the now light moments.

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't," Charlotte agreed nodding.

She needed to tell Phasmi what was going on and Phasmi looked at her phone as she and Stiles went back to Stiles' place, Stiles still upset about not being able to get a hold of Scott. He and Phasmi were going to have to figure this out all by themselves, and while Phasmi didn't mind that, she knew that Stiles was just in need of his best friend. At the same time, Phasmi honestly wanted to talk about Caroline and since she wanted to know more about the other member of the pack, she figured that she should talk to the person that knew her best.

"You love her, don't you?" Phasmi asked Stiles.

Stiles looked at Phasmi and made a face. "What are you talking about now?"

"Caroline, Dumbass," Phasmi responded, a loving tone under it all. "You guys aren't just having sex—it never works like that…never."

"Sometimes it does," Stiles said, but he sighed. "I have feelings for her."

"Then why aren't you doing anything about it?" Phasmi asked him.

Stiles shrugged a little bit, wishing that he had a better answer for her than he did, smiling a little bit when Caroline showed up and knocked on his doorframe. Because of her heightened senses, she knew what questions had been asked and she was there for a reason, so she was trying to make the best of it. Phasmi saw that and instead decided to go and meet Charlotte at the house, Caroline going into Stiles' room and sitting on the end of his bed. His father had let her in and she was glad to be there, but she had a feeling that what she was going to say next would hurt him and she hated hurting him.

Unfortunately, Stiles clocked on almost right away to the obvious situation and knew that Caroline hadn't come to make-out or take her clothes off. His father was still there, first off, but second off, the look on Caroline's face made him pause and then he nodded because obviously something had to add to his already terrible, rotten, no good, very bad day. He had just been hoping that for once a beautiful girl could come into his room and something good would happen to him, but today was one of those days and he was getting used to disappointment.

"Why do I feel like you're pushing me away?" Stiles asked out loud.

Caroline gripped the comforter gently. "I just feel like this is bad timing."

"Bad timing? We make our own timing, Care—we always have," Stiles responded with a sigh. "You're about to make up some lame excuse about Scott, aren't you?"

"I think that Derek has a point with his training," Caroline lied easily. "I also think that he knows and I never wanted him to know. We both knew that someday this would end and I really do need to focus on my brother and on Lydia. She's my best friend and we both know that something is wrong with her and we'd be selfish to continue this."

The last part of what she was saying wasn't even a lie because she knew that should something bad happen come the full moon, she didn't want that something bad to happen to Stiles. Fact of the matter was that Caroline had feelings for Stiles too, she just couldn't admit it and she refused to be seen as needing a man…didn't want to be selfish. She wanted Stiles safe and she didn't want to fall any harder and God forbid if she hurt him. Nothing in the world could make her feel better if she ended up injuring Stiles in some way and that alone meant she had to end this and the sooner the better.

It didn't matter that her heart was breaking while she did it, and while it mattered to her that Stiles was so hurt that there was a small glint of tears in his eyes, she had to. This was all about keeping Stiles safe and about keeping her heart guarded and so she stood up and headed to the door, knowing that tears were coming for her too because she was emotional right now and she had to go. She only paused for a moment when he said her name, and then she was out the door without looking back, Stiles shaking his head and lying back on his bed, wishing the whole day had gone differently.

Charlotte and Derek were having a better night, because Melody had clothes for him and then she had made them all dinner when Phasmi had gotten there. While Charlotte had had a feeling that Caroline would end things, she was fully on board with helping Caroline rekindle the romance once she knew that Caroline was under control and she couldn't talk to Derek about that…just Phasmi. This whole thing would eventually blow up in her face eventually, but she just didn't want Derek to make a big deal about it when she wasn't—she wasn't even trying to make a full pack or anything. All she was focused on was the fact that Derek was in the guest room and it was making for a rather sleepless night as she tried to focus…but he was just down the hall.

Finally giving up on the idea of sleep, Charlotte got up and went down the hall, opening up the door and shaking her head when Derek chuckled. He had been expecting the tank top and pajama pant wearing young woman to come and see him and he even propped himself up on his elbows as he half sat up to get a better look at her, noting that she was closing the door behind her. They couldn't have sex because Phasmi and Melody would know, but Charlotte wanted something more than that, that even Derek hadn't been expecting when she had come into the room to see him.

At first, Derek had honestly thought that Charlotte was giving into her urges early—and he could even smell that she was definitely still turned on by him just being in the same room—but this was different. She had that look on her face like she was still dwelling on what had happened between them earlier and it hurt him that she was still worried about him…and it warmed his heart. There was so much love and care between them even though they never really said it and it used to be that just knowing was enough, but they both wanted more. They both wanted more even though they were far too scared to say it and they hid behind banter and sex constantly.

"If you're not here for sex…" Derek said slowly.

Charlotte rolled her eyes playfully. "I'm holding out, remember?"

"Then you shouldn't be here," Derek responded shaking his head. "Wanting you is just as strong for me as it is for you around this time and the full moon is close."

"You and I can spend one night just sleeping together," Charlotte told him as she sat on the side of the bed, looking over his shirtless form and biting her lip. "Granting we'd been having sex when we wanted up until the full moon, but I just…I want to be near you."

Derek took a moment to find the right words. "Are you going to make me be the little spoon?"

"Yes," Charlotte responded rolling her eyes again. "Just let me in your bed…"

"If you so much as grope lower than my stomach, you're as good a naked," Derek warned her and while it was playful, there was a hint of seriousness to it.

They were crossing a dangerous line here and while they both honestly just wanted the closeness, there was a lot of sexual tension between them as of late and that was why Charlotte wanted to be the big spoon as she slipped under the covers after nodding in agreement. As long as she didn't have to feel him pressed up against her back side, she wouldn't feel any need to abandon the game they had put into place and she just wanted to hold him. After everything that they had been through that day, she just wanted to know that he was there and he had a smile on his face she couldn't see as she wrapped her arms around him and buried her face behind his shoulder blades for a moment, kissing his tattoo and then shifting up to rest her head against his, stroking his hair tenderly and then closing her eyes, just holding him close.

"No back kissing either," Derek warned her, reaching his arm back to rest on her thigh and keep her tight up against him.

"Just promise me I won't lose you," Charlotte whispered, hot breath making his hair stand up.

Derek swallowed as he tried to contain himself. "I promise…"

"Good," Charlotte responded, now just trying to sleep.

After several moments, Derek spoke up. "Make the same promise, Charlotte."

Smiling, Charlotte nodded against him. "I promise…"


	10. Triggers and Anchors

Derek hadn't just gotten to hold Charlotte in a long while, so the two of them getting to wake up together made Derek smile a little bit. Such a sight on the young man's face was rare, but she seemed to bring out the best in him regardless of the situation and he stroked her hair and then her cheek as he lay there a moment that morning, Charlotte rousing from sleep. There were some residual and some new feelings of lust mixing with his love and care for her, and he found himself involuntarily nuzzling her collarbone as he ran his thumb along her soft cheek.

Her heart started to beat more rapidly, her fingers worming their way into his hair, stroking and tugging and she felt his hot, wet tongue and his strong teeth. She murmured something along the lines of, 'we can't', to which Derek just nodded and shifted his face down her body, both of them aroused and willing. Catching each other in the morning was the best time to through caution to the wind and it was when they were both the most vulnerable with their lust for each other, so neither of them was entirely thinking clearly. In fact Charlotte seemed to arch her body toward his when his mouth made it to the waistband of her pajama pants, but a knock on the door made them stop.

Melody opened it up and saw the two lying there. "Time for breakfast and then I think one of you has a job to get to today."

"Yes, Mother," Charlotte said, rosy in her face.

"I'll get some breakfast going," Melody responded with a smile. "The sleeping in the same bed can become a habit, but not the sex part if you would. Be somewhat of a role model for your sister please, Charleebean."

"Considering I'm still the virgin around here, that ship has sailed," laughing a little bit at the two as she passed, Phasmi looked at Derek. "Then again, as an Alpha she has a lot to teach a Beta like me. Hey, Derek, long time, no see…aren't you training Scott tonight?"

"Yes, I am, and your sister is taking Caroline," Derek said nodding.

"She's the best for that task," Phasmi responded truthfully.

Charlotte's face changed a little bit because she really didn't want Derek to know about it even though she had debated asking him to just join her pack in casual conversation. At the same time, she was pretty sure that he wanted to be an Alpha himself and since Caroline was _her_ Beta, she was the best choice to teach her and she would and well. It made Charlotte want to find a time that day to talk to Derek about maybe joining her pack and making it complete…in fact the sooner the better and then she could get all of this off of her chest and feel a lot less guilty.

"Momma said something about breakfast," Charlotte said quickly, slipping out of the bed and mobbing toward the door. "You get dressed, Derek, and I will go get dressed and then Mom's got breakfast. I smell bacon…"

Derek looked at Charlotte curiously because of her sudden behavior. "I do like bacon…"

"Who doesn't?" Phasmi chimed in to try and give her sister a door of opportunity to leave. "You know…maybe you should think about joining together and making a pack, you bacon lovers."

"That's a great idea," Charlotte agreed as Derek said, "We already failed at that once."

"Or you know, it's the worst idea ever," Charlotte responded slowly.

Without letting Derek say anything even though he felt really bad about just now hurting her feelings, Charlotte left to get herself ready for the day at the school as the school nurse, and then Phasmi sighed a little bit. She knew this was hard for them and she knew that after what had happened with the last pack that Derek was probably not going to want to start a new one, but it had been worth a suggestion. Sooner or later they were going to have to tell him and Phasmi hoped it was sooner rather than later because she wanted Charlotte and Derek to make it through this. Charlotte had ever only been this in love with one person and while she hadn't said it even once all of those years, she had tried a couple of times and Phasmi wanted it to work out.

_"You realize that he only challenged me because you lead him on, right?" Derek asked Charlotte angrily._

_Charlotte made a face. "I do **not** lead him on, Derek. I am nice to him because he is part of my pack and that makes us all a unit—a unit that is supposed to work together."_

_"Well, he wants what's mine," Derek replied, wincing when Charlotte put some witch hazel on the cut under his eye. "OW!"_

_"Stop being a baby," Charlotte told him as she made a face, "and I'm not property."_

_Derek gave her a look. "So I can say you're mine when we're having sex, but under any other circumstance you're 'not property'?"_

_"When I'm angry that you're insinuating that I have feelings for someone other than you, I'm 'not property'," Charlotte explained with a scowl. "I hate you for even saying it."_

_The two of them fell silent as Charlotte cleaned up his face and then sat down next to him, both of them realizing in that moment that they were good at being angry, but not at being pleasant. Being part of a pack was stressful and while he knew that Charlotte loved him by her actions and her by his, they were so afraid to say the words. Instead they were filled with 'feelings' and 'I hate you' and 'I can't lose you'. Derek knew that Charlotte only had eyes for him, but he wanted to hear her say it and she was too stubborn to do it because all of these years she'd thought that she would be turning into Kate somehow if she said she loved him and then ever disappointed him, even if it was by accident. She wasn't Kate and she didn't want to be lumped with her and Derek certainly hadn't said it…Derek had said many times that he didn't even think he knew what real love was…so they were silent about it._

_"I don't hate you," Charlotte told him, looking at him and cupping his face. "Hey…look at me…"_

_Derek did as he was told and kissed her instead of keeping the steady eye contact. "I know you don't—I just don't think that we can keep this up if he's going to continually challenge me."_

_"Kicking him out of the pack has to be unanimous," Charlotte replied, taking off her shirt and pushing Derek down onto the cot. "We think better when we're relaxed…"_

_He nodded even though he knew they were both avoiding their feelings right now. "Yes we do…"_

It was much like Charlotte knowing about Phasmi sneaking off to see Isaac, and she wanted that to work out because being the school nurse and knowing that a child was being beaten by his father, hurt her. She didn't understand why he wouldn't let her say anything about it, but she remembered a time or two him coming in recently and she could tell by the way he acted and the way he lied about his injuries that he was an abused kid. When she had tried to get onto the subject of it he had just fled and yet she knew and she wanted to do something about it…she had even thought about maybe killing the man because it would be saving someone, but this was someone's dad and it was up to Isaac to testify or not.

_"Charlotte?" Isaac asked cautiously._

_He was feeling pretty beat up and sore and he knew who Charlotte was because of Phasmi, so since she was the one working that morning, he thought he could get medical attention without any hassle from nurses at the hospital. Charlotte saw the young man and came right over, knowing what it looked like to get into a fight and wanting to take his pain away in any way possible, starting with a check-up. The moment she figured out his name though, she had an idea of everything that was going on because in her worrying about him, Phasmi had told Charlotte that Isaac's father was a really bad guy._

_"Isaac Lahey…you know my sister," Charlotte said nodding. "So it's not my reputation at the school that made you call me by name, but because of my pretty sister."_

_Isaac blushed a little bit at the words 'pretty sister'. "She's really sweet."_

_"Yeah, she is," Charlotte replied as she put the witch hazel on his lip. "Do you mind if…if I ask how this happened to you?"_

_"Jumped…by those asshole jocks, you know…though you probably don't," Isaac responded gently. "You were probably popular in High School."_

_Charlotte shrugged a little bit. "I wouldn't say 'popular' as much as 'known', so I'll refrain from saying anything along the lines of 'I know how you feel'."_

_Even though Isaac smiled a little bit, Charlotte knew that he had been lying about being jumped by jocks at school and it hurt her to know that such a sweet guy was in pain. Isaac was a complicated and layered individual and for a moment Charlotte entertained the thought of maybe adding him to her pack, but she figured that was actually Phasmi's call here as it was her feelings on the line. She might not want Isaac to be a werewolf or know anything about it and on top of that, Charlotte wanted Derek to be part of her pack more than she wanted Isaac to be and right now it was just about getting him patched up and sent back off to class…maybe getting down to the bottom of this._

_"Are you…are you sure that's what happened?" Charlotte asked she checked out the bruise on his abdomen._

_Isaac nodded, getting fidgety because she was a nurse. "Yes, of course…"_

_"Then why are you so jumpy?" Charlotte asked him._

_"I feel better, thank you," Isaac told her quickly, getting up and leaving—he didn't want her to find out and then try and get him to turn in his dad._

After getting some breakfast from her mother, Charlotte headed to the school while Phasmi and Derek headed to go and take a look around his place. He couldn't stay there for long periods of time with Kate around and yet there were things he needed and the place was sacred to him because it had been his family's house. Phasmi also had some things to ask him other than just tagging along for added werewolf support and she smiled a little bit when she saw him glance at her. Derek seemed a little on edge like he was being put on the spot, and that made Phasmi want to ask him all of these questions even more. She enjoyed his company because she considered him to be her brother and he had always protected her when he needed to and she had protected him too.

"Yes, this _is_ a semi interrogation," Phasmi said laughing. "Your intentions with my sister are less than honorable seeing as you're both just horny because of the moon."

Derek shook his head. "Your sister and I have always been more than that and you know it."

"I don't know that that's a thing that I know," Phasmi responded as they walked through the woods. "I mean, you two can give each other all sorts of googly eyes all you want, but the fact of the matter is that neither of you have said a damn thing about it. You've got Kate hanging over you, she's got Kate hanging over her and the whole pack fiasco…just tell her you love her."

"I don't love her," Derek lied, gritting his teeth.

"Yeah, well, when you two stop lying to yourselves and to each other, you'll both be happier," Phasmi said with a shrug. "You both like to say you don't love each other—you're only mates—but it's so much more than that. For four years you were together and even though for a little while you weren't, you're still mates…you still have that bond. There has been love there for ages and just because you can feel it, doesn't mean it's not a good idea to come out and just say it. It's scary and I know you both feel like putting it out there will ruin everything, but what if it makes everything better?"

Derek slipped into silence at that and Phasmi nodded, both of them sniffing out and heading into the house as Charlotte settled into the nurse's office that morning. She wasn't entirely surprised when Caroline came in, and motioned for her to take a seat as she went through the normal procedure: temperature, asking what was wrong, all of that. The last thing that Charlotte wanted was to be overheard or to be thought that she didn't take her job seriously and do it right. Besides, she knew why Caroline was there before she even opened up her mouth to talk to her.

"I really need to learn how to control all of this," Caroline explained shaking her head. "I feel really terrible today."

Charlotte nodded and stroked her hair. "You do look more down than I expected…what happened, Care? You know you can tell me anything…"

"I…I broke up with Stiles last night," Caroline told her, tears starting to fill her eyes. "I really didn't want to either. This was supposed to just be a mutually beneficial arrangement for sex that we could end any time but I…I…"

"You love him," Charlotte said gently. "I understand how that feels."

"This wasn't supposed to be like this," Caroline replied shaking her head. "I can't hurt him—I would never be able to forgive myself."

Nodding, Charlotte pulled Caroline in to hug her, stoking her hair and kissing the top of her head. "I won't let you hurt him, okay? Tonight you and I are going to work on your control so that come the full moon you can control yourself, okay? The first full moon is always the hardest."

Caroline nodded into her, believing her and then going about her day at school avoiding Stiles but knowing that he was upset about what had happened with Scott and the mountain lion at the parent/teacher conference. She just wanted to get through her day and so she went about classes and then went straight home and straight to Charlotte. Charlotte had a whole exercise planned for the basement since Derek was taking care of Scott that night and Caroline took off her jacket and ran her fingers through her dark hair.

"Alright, so…what first?" Caroline asked her.

Charlotte took a deep breath. "Well, Derek may get some things wrong but you know what he's right about? Anger is a trigger. Derek and I were born into this and you weren't—you and Scott were bitten—so that means that you're harder to teach but you and I have an upper hand over Derek and your brother: I'm your Alpha. You are part of my pack. You are my Beta. If you get out of hand during the full moon, I can easily put you in your place, but I want you to learn how to control it. I want you to be able to control yourself without me having to do it for you."

"I want that too," Caroline admitted nodding. "So…anger…"

"Anger is the key to turning it on and the key to turning it off is love…or it can be," Charlotte said with a gentle smile. "Derek wasn't always my anchor, but he became my anchor and it was a much stronger, better anchor than before. He keeps me grounded and he keeps me human and that was why I told you to think about Stiles and now that I know that you love him, it's an even better idea for you to use him as your anchor, as difficult as that is. I can't tell you how many times I just wanted to lose control because Derek was no longer around and I was so angry with him, but thinking about the good times helped me to calm down…sometimes you just have to suck it up. So, Care…what makes you angry?"

"I think that I can think of something…" Caroline said nodding slowly.

Charlotte smiled like a proud momma wolf and then she set to training Caroline, happy about how receptive she was to it all. All of this was new to her and it wasn't perfect, but Charlotte was convinced that there was a chance that they were going to be able to get through this and control it and she wanted that for her. She wanted Caroline to be in control and she wanted Caroline to be happy, up to her now to fix it and do just that—make sure that Caroline made this transition as a wolf and as soon as possible to prevent any kind of damage.

When it was over, Caroline went home feeling a little better about herself and a little more in control, but it wasn't enough. The full moon was coming and everything would be even more heightened than it was now…fortunately, Charlotte would be there to make sure that Caroline didn't do anything too bad because she was the Alpha. There was a large upper hand here for Charlotte to teach Caroline and sooner rather than later, they were going to have to tell the others, it just wasn't the right time and right now Charlotte wanted to know how Derek was doing and when he called, she smiled.

"There's my dashing wolf," Charlotte said smiling, "How did practice go?"

Derek took a deep breath. "Allison called his phone in the middle of the chase and I found him. He's a terrible student, so I broke his phone."

"You broke his phone?" Charlotte asked quickly. "That seems a little harsh…he could need that to get a hold of his mother or something."

"Always the mothering," Derek responded, but he smirked a little before he got very serious. "I told him to stay away from Allison right now."

"I'm sorry, you told him to do what?" Charlotte asked Derek as she got undressed, phone on her shoulder. "I really don't think that's going to work."

The more she thought about it actually, the more that she thought that it wasn't going to work this plan of Derek's. She remembered what it was like to be a teenage girl and to be told not to see the boy that she had feelings for and so when Derek said he was acting to try and keep Scott and Allison apart, Charlotte was pretty certain that it wasn't going to work. This was all going to backfire and she wanted to make sure that it didn't…then again, maybe Derek's methods would work with Scott, and Charlotte had to hope that everything would work out well.

Derek sighed loudly. "Why not?"

"When my father told me to stay away from you, did it work?" Charlotte laughed, laughing more when he sighed again. "Exactly—I wanted more than anything to just screw your brains out even more."

"Shortly after we became mates…" Derek added in nodding. "I don't even know if I can teach him. How is it going with Caroline?"

"Caroline is a much better pupil than Scott," Charlotte told him, picking her words carefully.

He wasn't right next to her so he couldn't hear her heartbeat clearly enough to tell him that she was lying or anything and yet she felt terrible about this. So, she decided to just go ahead and let it all out there and she took a deep breath, which just signaled to Derek that she had something to say to him and that it might be important. Derek cared about what it was that was on her mind, and so he was silent as he let her find the words that she needed to find and gave her his direct attention.

"So…you've never thought about making another pack?" Charlotte asked him slowly. "I know that everything got messed up last time, but we're older now. We're not immature teenagers and the feelings that we have for each other—"

"—are dangerous," Derek cut in, not really knowing why he had.

Charlotte stopped talking and then spoke up. "They're our anchors."

"Our feelings got in the way last time," Derek reminded her shaking his head. "We can't hold it together long enough to make this work."

"I think you're wrong, but I'm not going to try to change your mind when you're clearly so set against it," Charlotte replied as she set her phone down to pull her tank top on and then turned to see him standing there now. "We don't have to make a pack together—we clearly don't work well together."

"Now you're just saying mean things because you're mad," Derek pointed out. "This, however, is my point: you and I are too emotional."

Charlotte rolled her eyes. "You're just afraid to admit that love is a powerful anchor."

"So you love me…" Derek said slowly.

The realization of her choice in words made her snap her focus back to him and when she shook her head, Derek nodding gently. All of this lying out loud was stressful and yet it was far less scary than the alternative and they knew that they meant something to each other, but Derek didn't want to make a new pack with Charlotte because he didn't want things to be the same—not because he didn't want to. Even Derek had to admit that they were far more powerful together, but Derek didn't want to just be the Alpha's mate and Charlotte was aware of that and she understood, she just felt like becoming an Alpha would make him feel the need to leave her and make his own pack without her and forget her.

"I do not," Charlotte said firmly, Derek nodding and walking up to her. "I mean it…I don't…"

Derek nodded and smiled when Charlotte backed up against the wall. "And the fact that you're lying? We're just going to overlook it…"

"We always do…I mean you love me too," Charlotte responded as she felt her back make contact with the wall, taking deep breaths as Derek zeroed in.

"I don't…" Derek lied, crashing his lips into hers.

"You just want to be the Alpha," Charlotte said gently as she pushed on him a little and she could tell by the look in his eyes as they both paused, that she'd hit on it. "You don't want to be the mate…you don't want to be my mate. You want to be Alpha."

Derek swallowed and took a step back. "I can't go back to being in your shadow."

"Don't worry about it…I won't ask you to join my pack again," Charlotte responded, and as she headed out to the living room, her words cut them both. "I won't ask you to keep being my mate either if it's an inconvenience to you…"


	11. Pre-Moon Jitters

Charlotte woke up the next morning feeling rather awful and Derek wasn't there—that she knew because she could smell him less than she had before. She got up and started down the stairs, suddenly aware of a completely different presence and wishing that there was something that she could do to stop the words coming out of her mouth, but she couldn't. The young wolf had never really been very good with stopping verbal vomit and she wanted to get down to the bottom of whatever was going on right now.

"Why is Allison's father in our kitchen?" Charlotte asked her mother.

Melody smiled a little bit. "Chris wanted to extend his concern for my brother to all of us."

"Well, we're very touched," Charlotte responded, going to the coffee pot and looking at her mother when she and Chris looked at her attire. "What? I smelled coffee and I wanted it…"

"Just inappropriate for guests," Melody told her daughter, motioning to her attire. "You know, Chris and I knew each other back in the day."

"It's a small world," Charlotte replied as she sipped the coffee and looked at Chris. "I'm going to go get dressed and go to work—thank you for your concern, Mr. Argent."

She knew that it was important for her to keep her emotions close to the vest on this but she was so upset about so many things that she was finding it really hard to focus. Charlotte was angry with herself for what she had said to Derek and she was upset about Kate attacking them and almost killing Derek even though he hadn't spilled any human blood, and she was mostly just upset in general that she wasn't being strong like she was used to being in Derek's absence in her life. With him it was like she was naked and exposed and not always in the pleasing way, but in the terrifying way like he knew everything about her and she couldn't hide from him.

Right now, she was upset that Chris Argent was in her home because it meant that he was onto her and that meant that he might be onto Phasmi and her mother. Trying to shake the feeling off, Charlotte got dressed and went back downstairs, her mother shaking her head at her and drinking her own coffee as Charlotte got ready to go. Knowing her mother wanted to talk to her, Charlotte leaned on the island counter and she perked up her ears to let her mother speak first, not wanting to disrespect the woman that had been raising her, her entire life.

"I think we both know that you're displacing your anger at Kate out on Chris," Melody told her daughter as she took a deep breath. "Chris has been onto me since I ran after the Hale fire and once Kate went running back to him to tell him that you were a wolf too…he put it all together."

Charlotte swallowed. "Why are you…he knows about Phasmi?"

"He knew that I ran off with Peter Hale's best friend and that your father was a werewolf. Chris and I were best friends once upon a time and he tried to kill your father more than once before he realized that your father was just trying to lead a normal life." Melody explained slowly. "You see, Chris lives by a code even though Kate doesn't and while he doesn't know exactly what happened, he knows that Kate knows and he figured I got bit and had you two. He's not going to hunt you out of friendship and owing me a lot of favors for saving his life on more than one occasion, but if you tip the scales in his favor, that means nothing."

"So in other words, he's my enemy?" Charlotte asked, nodding when Melody did slowly. "All I have to do is step out of line once and he'll kill me?"

"He's a hunter, Charleebean…he's an Argent, and I'm no longer the best friend he once held me as. As far as Christopher Argent is concerned, his best friend died the moment your father bit me." Melody said gently. "I want you to be careful—something is happening and if Derek continues to be reckless, I don't know what's going to happen to him or to the rest of you."

Charlotte nodded and told her mother that she loved her before she kissed her cheek and headed out to the car, pausing when she smelled Chris. He had been waiting to confront her on his own and she figured it was because he thought it was far too coincidental for two werewolves to show up suddenly and then killings to happen, and she was right. Chris had a feeling that since Kate didn't know whether or not Charlotte was an Alpha, there was a definite chance that she could be just the wolf that he was looking for because he didn't think that Melody would do it.

He had known her long enough to know that she didn't desire power like that, or even a pack, and while he distrusted her because she was now a wolf, part of him still thought of her as an ally. As far as her children were concerned, however, Charlotte was the headstrong one and had been seen with Derek according to Kate, so there was a chance that this had all fallen into his lap. Charlotte could very well be the Alpha of the pack and Derek was just the pawn and he wanted to know for once and for all what he was dealing with.

"Why do I get the feeling that this wasn't a friendly visit?" Charlotte asked as she unlocked her car door.

Chris smiled a little as he took a couple of steps toward her. "Because your mother no doubt warned you…she may be a lot of things, but Melody Stilinski is not an idiot."

"Her name is also 'Melody Graceland' now, in case you missed the whole memo about her getting married," Charlotte said as she looked at him with a cheeky smile on her face.

"Definitely not one of her finest moments, but she wasn't herself anymore," Chris explained, smiling a little more when Charlotte clenched her fists at that. "I'm surprised that you're protective of him when he's not even around anymore. He abandoned you…probably left his mantle to you and then you recruited Derek Hale."

"You think I'm the Alpha," Charlotte concluded, laughing. "You think that Derek and I came back to town together and that I'm killing people and turning people and bringing a war to Beacon Hills? No. If you checked the records you would know that I've been here a full month before Derek came back into town and I've been doing honest work. You think that we're all a bunch of monsters, but you're wrong and I'm going to be late… _helping people_."

As Charlotte turned to opened up her car door and get inside, Chris grabbed her arm and hard, making her eye his hand and growl. It was an animalistic growl because she didn't like to be manhandled anymore than any other normal person and this was because she was being threatened and she didn't want to be threatened. If he was threatening her, then he was threatening her family and her pack and she wasn't about to let him get away with it, no matter his history with her mother. She had been warned and he needed to be warned too.

"You step out of line even once, and you deal with me," Chris told her, looking her over. "You might not be the Alpha we're after, but I won't let you destroy this place or the people in it."

Charlotte nodded and looked Chris in the eye. "You need to let go of my arm by the time I count to 5 or you're no longer going to have it."

"Spilling human blood is a sure fire way to get yourself put down like a rabid dog."

"Threatening a werewolf is a sure fire way to get yourself ripped to shreds like a chew toy."

Chris nodded and slowly loosened his grip. "Then we understand each other…"

"Perfectly…" she said before he took a step back and let her get in her car and go to work.

xx

"Why do you keep coming here and bringing me things?" Isaac asked Phasmi that night when she handed him a thermos of hot chocolate and a sandwich. "I do get fed at home."

Phasmi nodded and smiled. "I know that, but I just…I like bringing you things, okay?"

"I don't know why…" Isaac responded slowly, trailing off to make a point.

"Yes you do," Phasmi smiled, nodding.

She knew that Isaac was just fishing for her to tell him that she liked him and while she did, she didn't want to say it out loud yet until she knew for certain that he liked her too. It wasn't like with Charlotte and Derek, who were choosing to be blind to the love that they shared out of fear…it was out of just wanting to be there for Isaac right now. She was his friend and she didn't want to spoil that for him if he didn't like her more than that and if it meant protecting him and finding a way to move past these feelings then so be it—she cared more about protecting him. The two didn't have the luxury of knowing each other for a long time like Derek and Charlotte, and so this strong attraction she felt could be buried if she had to do that…she just didn't want to.

It was obvious that she liked him and that he liked her too, but they both wanted a physical action or a vocal word to cement that between them. Actions were one thing and words were another and right now Phasmi just wanted Isaac fed and taken care of, especially after hearing about Charlotte finding those wounds on him. He was healing and everything, but Phasmi always felt so bad leaving Isaac because there was always a chance that his father would rough him up and with Isaac not willing to press charges, Phasmi knew there was nothing that she could do except to make sure that he was safe when she was with him and she'd always do that.

"I think you pity me," Isaac told her and she could tell he half believed it.

Phasmi shook her head. "This isn't a pity sandwich with sorry cocoa, okay?"

"Then what is it?" Isaac asked her as he sat down on the blanket in the cemetery.

"It's a way to show you that I care," Phasmi responded slowly, looking at a headstone.

"Because your sister told you about the bruises…"

"No, because I give a shit…"

Isaac opened his mouth to protest because his stomach was churning, but Phasmi shook her head at him and went in for the kill. She had thought about just waiting, but she wanted him to know that she wasn't doing this out of pity, she was doing this out of pure, unadulterated care and once her lips touched his, they fumbled a little. Phasmi didn't do this often and Isaac had never done this at all, not knowing what to do or how to move his mouth, but it felt right to have her kissing him like this and he felt good and his stomach erupted into butterflies. When she pulled back though, he thought he was bad at it and started apologizing, which just made Phasmi smile with rosy cheeks and kiss him again.

The second time went better than the first, Isaac responding and kissing her back, confused when she pulled away and ran off, leaving her blanket behind. He smiled though, sitting there in the cemetery for a moment with a goofy grin on his face while Scott found his way into his room quickly and started making sure he was all safe inside because the Alpha had come to see him and drew a spiral in the condensation on his car window. Derek had planted himself in the darkness and scared Scott when Scott thought he was safe, having spent the whole day away from Charlotte thoroughly stewing in his anger and his hurt at their last conversation. He missed her more than he was willing to admit and right now he wanted to know what was up with Scott.

"You seriously need to stop doing that!" Scott said, out of breath and still terrified.

Derek just stared at him from the chair. "So what happened? Did he talk to you?"

"Yeah…we had a nice conversation about the weather," Scott said sarcastically. "No! He didn't talk!"

"Well, did you get anything off of him? An impression?" Derek asked, wanting to get down to the bottom of it all and sooner rather than later.

"What do you mean?"

Derek sighed, making a derisive noise in his throat as he rose from the chair near Scott's bed because he was annoyed and it was obvious he was. Charlotte seemed to have it so easy with Caroline and yet Caroline seemed to be the most independent of the McCall twins and he wondered if it was just how Charlotte handled people that made her so good at this. As an Alpha she was used to teaching other wolves and while Derek had helped, it was nothing like what he was doing now and he had to figure this out so it wasn't all a complete waste.

"Remember, your other senses are heightened," Derek told Scott slowly, "Communication doesn't have to be spoken—what kind of feeling did you get from him?"

Scott pondered that a moment. "Anger…"

"Focused on you?" Derek asked him.

"No, no, not me—but it was definitely anger, I could feel it," Scott admitted nodding. "Especially when he drew the spiral…"

"Wait, what?" Derek asked, clearly caught off guard. "What'd you just say?"

"He drew this spiral on, on the window of my car," Scott clarified. "In the condensation…what?"

Derek wasn't quite sure what was going on, but he had a pretty good idea and his face was giving away to Scott that he knew something more than he was letting on. He wasn't good at keeping people in the loop and Scott wanted to know what was happening even though he had a feeling that Derek wasn't about to tell him anything about it. Maybe if he pressed him enough though, Scott would be able to be let in as to what in the world was going on and if not, he could always ask Charlotte because it seemed she knew just as much as Derek if not more.

"You look like you know what it means…" Scott told Derek quickly.

Derek waved it off. "It's…it's nothing."

"Wait, wait, wait a second!" Scott said as Derek went past him toward the door to his room. "You can't do that! You can't ask me to trust you and then just keep things to yourself! No wonder you and Charlotte fell apart!"

"It doesn't mean anything," Derek told him unlocking the door, making an angry noise in his throat. "You have no idea what happened between me and Charlotte so just…don't."

"You buried your sister under a spiral," Scott replied since the Charlotte quip got him nowhere. "What does it mean?"

Derek paused a moment and then rested his hand on Scott's shoulder. "You don't want to know."

Leaving, Derek went straight to Charlotte, wanting to talk to her because what Scott had said made him wonder if Charlotte blamed him for more than he thought she did. Getting into the house easily because he was staying there for now, Derek went to Charlotte's room and he took a deep breath and then started right in as Charlotte opened her mouth to say something. She was still trying to figure out what was going on in Caroline's life with Stiles, but instead Derek was barging into her room and she set her laptop down for a second as she listened to Derek speak. The least that she would do was listen to what it was that he had to say.

"You still trust me, don't you?" Derek asked Charlotte point blank.

Charlotte took a deep breath. "Why shouldn't I?"

"I didn't just leave because I was done with everything—I left because it was the right thing to do," Derek explained as he advanced on her. "We had no idea what we were doing and it was all falling apart and I was hindering your potential and you were hindering mine."

"I guess that's true," Charlotte said gently, even though she wasn't sure what was going on here. "I still don't understand why you're so worked up though. I mean I told you that you could do whatever it was that you wanted to do, Derek."

"Why would you do that? You were so quick to let me do what I wanted!" Derek exclaimed, hurt for reasons he didn't even know he was hurt for.

Charlotte swallowed slowly. "You want to be an Alpha and I'm holding you back and I won't do that. I'm not going to sit around and have you resent me, Derek—that's the last thing that I want. I want you to be happy, okay? Happy and safe. We're going to find the Alpha and you're going to avenge your sister and then you're going to start a pack."

"You can start one too…" Derek found himself saying.

Neither of them were quite willing to admit why it was that they hated this whole conversation, but when Charlotte stepped up to him, close, Derek found his breath hitching in his throat and his heart beating rapidly in his chest. The same was happening to Charlotte and for a moment she just wanted to give in to the feeling, but she couldn't—she had made it very clear to him before that she wasn't going to get in his way and regardless of whatever this was that was happening, she couldn't do this. She was becoming more and more aware of just how much he meant to her and it hurt her that he couldn't just say what it was that he was thinking and feeling.

"I trust you, okay?" Charlotte told him with a gentle smile. "I trust you with my life…"

Derek nodded and leaned in to kiss her because she'd set his mind at ease and he felt the same way, but she quickly moved away from him and out of the door. To avoid any further talk on the subject, she called Caroline on her cell phone so Derek would take the hint and go to the guest room, but Caroline wasn't picking up at all. She was at her home dealing with her brother and as much as she loved him, she thought that he was being obnoxious and needed her space from him. He caught on and left the house to go on a walk, Caroline angrily flipping through a magazine when she smelled him: Stiles.

Shaking her head vigorously, she got up and went to close her bedroom door, knowing her mother was at the hospital that night, but she wasn't fast enough. Stiles had spent the day upset and the evening upset as well and now he just wanted to be in the company of the one person that made him feel alive and good amongst all of this. He didn't like that she was pushing him away and yet he didn't know what to say to make her understand that he couldn't just let her go…no, he knew the words, he even had them—he just didn't want her to spit in his face given their history.

His crush on Lydia was always going to hang over them and he knew that she thought that she was just a place holder and he wasn't about to stand for it any longer. This was Caroline McCall and he didn't want to lose her and he refused to just simply be brushed aside even though he agreed that this was just as much her call as it was his, if not more so her call. Stiles just wanted Caroline to be aware that no matter what happened and no matter where she went, he was going to be there for her, right by her side. At this point he didn't even care if everyone knew about them, he just wanted Caroline.

"Did you break in here?" Caroline asked him, taking a step back. "That's a bit creepy."

Stiles shook his head. "I know where the spare key is."

"Still, kind of breaking in," Caroline bantered—it came so easily with Stiles.

"I just need to speak my piece," Stiles responded, walking toward her and sighing as she kept backing up towards the bed, stumbling a little when her legs hit the mattress.

She hadn't meant to be so clumsy and ending up falling onto the bed, sitting there with pink tinting her cheeks, shaking her head as Stiles stood at the end of her bed now, looking down at her. There was no way that she was going to let him have the upper hand and so she tried to stand, but when she did, her face was so close to his that she instantly regretting it, his scent catching in the air and then it happened: his lips on hers. It was an urgent, tender kiss and for a second she returned it and then she pulled back and shook her head, sitting again as she had nowhere to run.

"Good—we either kiss or you sit and listen to what I have to say," Stiles replied nodding, feeling rather confident in that moment as Caroline reached her fingertips up her mouth and touched her lips.

Caroline narrowed her eyes at him, but she was turned on and couldn't deny that. "You're not the boss of me, Stilinski."

"Yes, well, this relationship is my relationship too and you can't just end it," Stiles responded shaking his head. "Everything is really crazy right now and I don't want this to be over."

"It doesn't matter what we want, it just has to happen," Caroline replied and she knew that he now knew she didn't want it to end either, but she was worried about hurting him—she could never forgive herself if she hurt him.

"Why? Does Scott know?" Stiles asked her.

Caroline nodded, more than willing to blame this on her brother. "Yes! Scott knows and now this isn't a secret anymore!"

"Then it's not a secret," Stiles said nodding. "See? That's a load off of us—no more sneaking around; we can be vocal about this."

"Stiles, no," Caroline said and hurried to move away from him, but as she went for the door, it closed and she turned to face Stiles, her back now firmly against the wooden door—she was trapped and she loved it even though she knew that she shouldn't. "Stiles! You can go after Lydia now, okay? You're home free! I'm letting you go!"

"But you don't want to!" Stiles countered shaking his head. "And I don't want you to!"

She had thought that she was being so strong, but with those words coming out of his mouth and his eyes blazing into hers, Caroline found herself kissing Stiles this time around, unable to control what she was feelings. Everything was heightened and Stiles was right here with her and she just wanted to make it last, smiling as Stiles fingers wormed their way into her dark locks. He was so caring and protective and knowing how much he didn't want to lose her and how he was willing to fight for her just made her melt right into him and just like that her hands were going for his belt. Smiling against her mouth, Stiles nipped at her bottom lip gently to cement what would happen next, and when Caroline pulled back a little, he couldn't help but smile because she was smiling…even if she seemed a bit sad.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Stiles promised, kissing her nose affectionately as she seemed to be over thinking her next actions. "I will never be that guy that hurts you…"

Caroline nodded and pulled off her shirt. "I don't want to hurt you either."

Sighing because Caroline wasn't answering, Charlotte went back to her room, sighing louder because Derek was sitting on her bed. He smiled at her like he was glad he had the upper hand and she just shut her bedroom door and nodded, going over to her bed and turning down the covers before she spoke up because he was still there. She had told him exactly what it was that he had wanted to hear and yet…he was still here and he was being demanding and she didn't know why because he'd always kept her at arm's length. No matter what it was that they may or may not be feeling inside, Derek never told her how he felt and now he was sitting here expecting her to get what? In touch with her feelings?

Just because Derek didn't not love her, didn't mean that he actually in fact _did_ love her. He could feel something for her and it could be that he wasn't actually in love with her and that was what she was afraid of—she wanted him to actually come out and say that he loved her and that she was the person he wanted to be with. They could be mates and he could still be in love with Kate and while that would hurt her, she would rather know that right off the bat so she could cope with it in her own way. After the day she'd had and after not getting to do anything that she wanted to do, she just wanted to go to sleep and he wasn't letting her do it.

"What do you want from me, Derek?" Charlotte asked him. "I'm training Caroline, I'm helping with Scott and I trust you…what is it?"

Derek took a deep breath. "It's just…I have to delve into my past and Scott said something that hurt and I'm not hurt, Charlee—I don't do hurt."

"No, you do brooding," Charlotte responded as she slid into bed and pulled the covers up to snuggle into them. "What did Scott say exactly and what do you need to dig into?"

"He said that my secret keeping made you leave," Derek explained slowly and then took a deep breath. "I think I have a lead on the Alpha but I just…never mind…"

"I left because you abandoned the pack and by that point it was just you and me so you abandoned me," Charlotte told him as he stood up. "You and I had to be apart and while it hurt and I'm still hurt, you're Derek, okay? You're my mate and I am always going to be by your side. I am here for you and tomorrow, bright and early, we'll do more research."

"I have to visit Peter," Derek whispered shaking his head.

Charlotte nodded at that. "You won't have to do it alone."

Derek smiled a little and nodded, grateful that he honestly still had Charlotte like he thought that he did, but he felt like she deserved so much better than him. He was still so distrusting and yet this was Charlotte, the little girl that had always been there for him, even when he didn't deserve it and he knew that he didn't. She had always believed in him and she had gotten him to connect on a level that he had never really been able to before because she and Kate were two very different people and she was…she was his. Somehow he knew that even though he wished that she would come out and say it in more words as well because he wanted the verbal reassurance.

"Four years and you're still…" Derek trailed off, but neared the bed again from the door. "Part of me has actually missed this."

Charlotte laughed and rolled her eyes. "If you're trying to sleep in here, I suggest you keep your paws to yourself then. Part of me is still angry with you."

"Well, if it helps, I still want to be your mate," Derek told her honestly as he climbed into her bed and stayed on his side of it, looking at her. "I call the shots tomorrow though."

"You _do_ need to train to be an Alpha," Charlotte teased as she smiled and nodded. "Goodnight, Derek."


	12. Calling All Werewolves

**Smut Warning in this chapter**

Caroline knew that with being a werewolf meant heightened senses—of every kind—but she hadn't actually been expecting this. She and Charlotte had been working on how to keep herself under control, but something about what Stiles was doing to her was making Caroline lose focus and when she lost focus she felt the wolf wanting to come out and she couldn't let it because Stiles didn't know. In fact for a moment she wondered why she hadn't just come out and told him, but she knew that she couldn't and so she _tried_ to focus on staying a bit more calm instead of ravaged with lust.

Stiles had expertly gotten her pants unfastened, however, in record time and had slipped his long, slender fingers down into them to stroke her as he kissed her passionately. Caroline moaned, feeling her canines elongating a little bit as Stiles rubbed at her through her underwear between her legs, fighting the urge to let go because Stiles didn't know…but Jesus, what he was doing felt so good. She quickly moved to push her jeans off, hands going to Stiles' trousers and getting them off too, both of them stepping out of their clothes and moving to the bed, Stiles now moving to slip his fingers into her underwear.

Caroline had expected everything to kick in eventually, smirking a bit as she bit her lip to moan because on top of being aroused herself she could smell that Stiles was too. She suddenly understood why it was that animals—especially wolves—were drawn to each other when their hormones were raging, because the smell was _intoxicating_. Add in that Stiles now had her with her back against her mattress, his fingers slipping and sliding as he coaxed moans from her, and Caroline was practically gone. She didn't know how much longer she was going to have control, especially when Stiles started kissing down her body, slipping her panties off as he did so. Then he slipped his boxers off and laid beside her, unhooking her bra clasp in the front and using his mouth and his fingers.

He was trying to prove to Caroline that they were in a relationship and while this was only proving her points so many times before about how they were only sex, he cared about her and in this moment, about her pleasure just as much. His hot, wet tongue swirled around the peak of her breast as he pushed the cup of the bra aside, slipping a finger inside of her and smiling against her skin as she gasped out happily. She gripped the sheets as he sucked and gently bit, finger pumping along to please her, and then before he knew it, she had snapped and flipped them over.

His back was firm against the mattress down, body between Caroline's legs, but a smile was on his face as she slipped the bra off and tossed it on the floor. Then she was kissing him, Stiles opening up his mouth for her tongue as she teased the corners of his lips, moaning even more when she settled against him. Before he knew it, she was taking him in, her heat surrounding him as she brought herself down, flesh in flesh. They didn't need words, their bodies were doing all of the talking, and she moved against him at a pace that wasn't too face, but wasn't slow either. All she could think about was how she had to have him and nothing in the world could stop her right now from having Stiles—not that Stiles would make her stop either.

Gripping her hips she started to kiss to his ear lobe, Stiles held her in place as he thrust up, wanting more access to her and turning them over again. At first Caroline had resisted and he was momentarily confused at her strength and her nails raking down his torture as only lust was occupying her brain at the moment, but he got her on her back and kept his thrusts deep and hard, her legs now wrapped around his waist, nails on his back. He wasn't expecting her to draw blood, but he surprisingly liked it, thrusting up into her spot as he whimpered, Caroline crying out a little louder with her moans.

Her peak hit her hard, Stiles beaming as she cried out his name and buried her face in the crook of his neck, Stile pulling out to spill over himself, having remembered as she moved with him to ride out her orgasm, that they weren't being entirely smart. Her name was on his lips too as he orgasmed, holding her shuddering body close to his and kissing her lovingly. All Caroline could do was kiss him back and try to focus on him to turn her eyes from yellow to their normal color, nodding when asked if he could stay over. She certainly wasn't going to kick him out, and snuggled her damp body into his, smiling as he stroked her hair and kissed her temple.

xx

The closer they got to the full moon, the more Charlotte felt like she had to be around Derek and while she was trying to keep a hold on herself, everything that Derek did made her want him and she was having a really hard time with it all. She had woken up and needed to get out of the bed as quickly as possible, Derek smirking a little bit as she shimmied out of her pajamas and started to get dressed quickly, letting his eyes rake over her form hungrily, which made Charlotte shake her head as she grabbed her hair brush. There was absolutely no way that she was going to let him win this and when he got out of the bed, she shook her head and went for the door, but he stopped her, just as quick as she was as a werewolf.

"Eventually you and I are going to fall into better old habits," Derek whispered in her ear, hands on her hips as he pulled her body back against his, making her bite her lip as his teeth traced her earlobe. "You can't tell me you don't want to…"

Charlotte managed to get a clear head for a moment and wiggled away from him. "I am an Alpha and I am going to go and eat some breakfast and then you and I are going to go see your uncle. That is the extent of our relationship right now even though you touching me is cheating."

"Right…" Derek said nodding, hearing her words and watching her wish she had said something else.

They spent so much time fighting each other, but he also knew as well as her that come the full moon, they would get to be as close to each other as they were used to and maybe he could take back what he'd said when they had met up again. It wasn't just sex—it never was with them—and he wanted that connection with her back as soon as possible. He felt like maybe some actual post cuddling after sex would help and they might actually both be in a more relaxed state to take everything out because right now things between them were tense and untrusting and he _hated_ that…in fact both of them hated feeling this distant from each other.

"Do you remember when we were 10?" Derek asked, nodding when Charlotte did too even though she was immensely caught off guard. "I want us to go back to that."

_Even at ten and eleven, Derek Hale and Charlotte Graceland knew that they were somewhat attracted to each other in a more than friends kind of way. It was just a crush and Derek certainly wasn't about to tell Charlotte anything about it because he knew his friends would tease and yet…she was his best friend. Because Charlotte's father was Derek's uncle's best friend, the two had known each other since Derek was born, as Charlotte was a little bit older than Derek was. They had been playing together for years and this particular day, Derek was thinking about just how much Charlotte meant to him because his sister, Laura, had mentioned that it was possible that someday Charlotte would no longer live here in Beacon Hills._

_"What are you doing?" Charlotte asked as she pulled her hair back and scrunched up her nose playfully. "You know I get nervous when you look at me like that."_

_Derek rolled his eyes at his best friend. "Whatever—I'm not looking at you special."_

_"Yeah, sure," Charlotte teased, moving out of Derek's reach as he moved to smack her arm. "You're a slow poke."_

_"Say that again!" Derek dared as he started to chase after her._

_Charlotte ran, giggling the whole way, laughing even more when Derek tackled her down to the grass. It was summer and the sun was high up in the sky, beating down on the two young wolves as they began to wrestle and tumble, Charlotte ending up on top of him. Derek struggled to try and get the upper hand, but another roll in the grass ended with the same outcome: Charlotte on top with that grin on her face. She loved to challenge him, but even more she loved to win, and she leaned down so their faces were close, smiling because Derek was smiling a little too._

_"You never win," Charlotte said in a sing-song voice._

_Derek shrugged a bit. "You cheat,"_

_"I do not!" Charlotte exclaimed smacking his arm, gasping when he smacked hers back._

_"You cheat at everything!" Derek teased as he pushed on her again._

_Charlotte smiled a little bit at how his heart was racing, but it wasn't that of deception…it was that of nervousness. She wasn't sure if it was the same kind of nervousness that she felt sometimes when she was around him that made her stomach kind of sick, but she knew that she wanted to do what she did next and Derek was surprised that he wanted it too. He hadn't even seen it coming when she leaned down to place her lips against him, giving him a gentle kiss and then pulling back to just tell him that apparently it paid off to cheat, but for the rest of the day Derek Hale was a bit giddy._

"I mean, I remember our first kiss like it was yesterday," Derek continued, looking at her. "I want us to trust like that again."

Charlotte nodding gently, wanting the same thing. "Well…maybe once we get all this Alpha nonsense figured out we can work on it. I've missed you, Derek."

Without letting him say anything else on the subject, Charlotte went to get some breakfast and Derek went into the guest room to change into some actual clothes. When he came down that morning, he noticed that Phasmi was in a really good mood and he smiled too because when Phasmi was in a good mood, everyone was in a good mood. Besides, Melody treated Derek like he was part of the family and he enjoyed eating breakfast with them, missing his own family and feeling even _more_ nervous about having to see Peter. Charlotte went with him, however, and that made him feel a lot better about it all.

His uncle, Peter Hale, was the only one to survive the fire that killed his whole family, Derek and Laura having not even been in the house at the time. Unfortunately, the accident left his whole right face scarred from burns and he wasn't really responsive, pretty much comatose even though he was awake enough in his brain to be bathed and moved around instead of hooked up to machines. It pained Derek every time he had to see him, and today he was in a wheelchair and Derek was having a hard time just walking in, Charlotte turning him around to face her and pulling him close by his leather jacket.

"I am going to be right with you the entire time…" Charlotte promised, looking Derek in the eye and smiling gently. "The _entire_ time…"

Derek nodded before entering the room, turning his uncle to face him and sitting on the bed that he slept on while here. Peter was just blankly staring off even though Charlotte felt like something was off here and familiar and while she knew Peter…this was different. Still, she was focused on Derek right now and she smiled sadly at him to reassure him should he look back at her, focused on his uncle for now and ready to speak.

"I need your help," Derek told him gently. "If you can hear me, I need you to give me a sign. Blink, raise a finger, anything, just…just something to point me in the right direction, okay?" Derek looked down at his hands to pause a moment, Charlotte chewing on her bottom lip nervously as Derek lifted his head up a little, staring at the ground. "Someone killed Laura. Your niece? Laura. Wherever he is, he's an Alpha now, but he's one without a pack, which means he's not as strong."

Charlotte wet her lips as silence fell on the room, Peter still blankly looking off into space and Derek hoping that something would get through. He was only here because he knew that his uncle had to know something, but he was so fried from the fire that Derek wasn't sure why he had come. It wasn't as if Peter would just suddenly give him a sign even though Derek was sort of hoping for some sort of miracle so that he would have the upper hand here.

"I can take him," Derek said finally, nodding and looking directly at his uncle, "but I have to find him first. Look, if you know something, just give me a sign. Is it one of us? Someone else make it out of the fire? Just give me anything. Blink…raise a finger, anything!" Derek said louder and louder, getting more and more passionate and desperate and Charlotte jumped a little when Derek grabbed the arms of the wheelchair that Peter was in, now closer to his uncle. "Say something!"

"Let him go!" The nurse said from the door, Derek standing up and turning to face her as Charlotte turned around to look at her too. "You think after six years of this, yelling at him is going to get a response?"

Derek made a face. "You got a better method?"

"Patience," she responded as Charlotte looked at Peter. "He'll respond if you give him the time."

Charlotte wanted to say something, but it wasn't her place and she had a feeling that this whole trip was just going to put Derek in a mood. She didn't want him to be upset and they certainly needed answers, but right now Peter wasn't going to be much help because even if he did give Derek a sign, he wasn't going to be able to say anything. Still, this was a visit that had to happen and she knew what Derek was going to say before he even said it.

"I don't have any more time…" Derek told her, moving past her and out the door.

Smiling at the nurse, Charlotte nodded gently. "Thank you…Derek!"

"Not right now," Derek replied as Charlotte followed him quickly out of the facility. "This whole trip was a giant waste of time!"

"Not necessarily!" Charlotte protested, getting in front of him and making him stop in his tracks. "It's possible that it's not a family member that made the symbol, but maybe it's the same person trying to lure you in that tried to lure Laura in?"

"Maybe," Derek said gently, nodding and then moving to his car. "What's this?"

He grabbed the piece of paper off of his windshield and looked at it, looking around and then quickly getting into the car, Charlotte following suit and getting into the passenger seat. Derek handed her the paper as he drove off, Charlotte looking at it and nodding like she had just been hit with the same epiphany, Derek driving her back to Beacon Hills and they waited for a little bit, until he was alone. Going into the animal clinic, Charlotte smiled a little as she heard the man ask Scott if being late was going to become a habit for him, and then he noticed Derek and Charlotte standing there.

"Can I help you?" Scott's boss, Dr. Deaton, asked Derek.

Derek took a breath. "I hope so."

"Before we start, I'm taking over," Charlotte replied, taking the page from Derek, who growled at her. "No…you're not in a space to be diplomatic."

"Want to know about the animal you found with the spiral in its side?" Derek asked, ignoring her.

Dr. Deaton straightened up and crossed his arms over his chest. "What animal?"

"Three months ago," Charlotte pointed out, opening up the piece of paper and showing it to him. "It was a deer, do you remember it?"

"Oh, that, it's just a deer and I didn't find it—they did and they asked me if I'd ever seen anything like it," he answered quickly.

Derek nodded at that. "And what did you tell them?"

"I told them, 'no'," he explained quickly.

Charlotte could tell that the whole atmosphere of the room was really tense and yet nothing really cemented any of this for her until she heart the patter of Dr. Deaton's heartbeat. Derek heard it too and as he was bad cop out of the two of them, he started to advance and Charlotte had to stop him, holding her hand out and shaking her head. She took a couple of steps forward instead, trying to smile in a more friendly manner so she could charm it out of him instead of Derek resorting to any sort of violence when this could be a peaceful encounter.

"I'm not going to get into any details, but we could both hear the sound of your heartbeat rising, so we know you're lying," Charlotte explained as Dr. Deaton moved to put the table in between him and Charlotte and Derek. "I'm less likely to get violent here, so let's stick to the basics: are you protecting someone? Falsifying evidence to hide the culprit of this symbol?"

Dr. Deaton swallowed and looked at her. "Look, I don't think that—"

Just like that, Derek was to him and dragging him onto the table, Charlotte growling at him and pushing him away from Dr. Deaton. This was supposed to go her way and not Derek's way, but Derek knocked him out and Charlotte sighed, sitting him up in a chair and telling Derek to wait in the other room, which made Derek angry. When Dr. Deaton came to, Charlotte apologized and started to ask him the question again, Derek thinking they were getting nowhere being calm and nice as he was impatient no matter how much he trusted Charlotte to get things done. It also didn't help that Scott came too, just in time to see Derek pick the chair up with Dr. Deaton in it, to get in his face again.

"What are you doing?!" Scott asked Derek angrily, seeing Charlotte there and getting even more upset.

Charlotte stepped in and pushed Derek away, hand covering Dr. Deaton's mouth when he yelled for Scott to leave. "We are doing this my way or so help me I'm going to incapacitate all of you! You told Derek that you saw a spiral, right? The Alpha drew it on your car window? That is our sign for a vendetta—revenge. It means the killing won't stop until he's satisfied and that same spiral was on a deer that Dr. Deaton lied about knowing anything about. Do you know what that means? It means he knows what the spiral means…he could be our Alpha."

"You think _he's_ the Alpha?!" Scott asked incredulously.

"We're about to find out," Derek responded but as he moved for Dr. Deaton again, both Charlotte and Scott grew their nails out to match Derek's, Charlotte's eyes flashing red as Scott half transformed.

"Touch him again, and you'll see me get angry," Scott responded, looking at Charlotte when she squealed in excitement, Dr. Deaton just looking at them.

Regardless of the fact that this was kind of a serious moment, Charlotte was feeling like a proud momma wolf again because Scott seemed to be able to trigger his anger to get in touch with his werewolf side. She and Derek had been trying to teach him and while Scott had definitely been defiant, he was starting to learn and Charlotte almost had tears in her eyes she was so proud, which threw Scott off and he became himself again. Still, Charlotte and Derek both became themselves too and Charlotte took a step forward and nodded, beaming at Scott, who half smiled just because Charlotte's smile was so damn infectious he couldn't help it.

"As the Alpha, I think that we should think up a new plan…" Charlotte responded since she wanted the less violent way around things. "If you're the Alpha, then Derek is going to kill you," she told Dr. Deaton calmly. "So, you had better hope and pray that you're not, or get prepared for him to attack you like a chew toy. Scott…do you have any brilliant plans?"

Scott paused a moment, glad Charlotte was more reasonable. "Maybe, how about…you meet us at the school in an hour?"

"Okay," Charlotte said, looking at Derek. "We're going to let Scott handle this since it's close to home for him, alright?"

Growling because he didn't like it, Derek nodded and left, Charlotte ruffling Scott's hair in a proud fashion and then looking at Dr. Deaton. "For what it's worth…I don't think you're the Alpha."

"I'm not!" he exclaimed and while she could tell it was the truth, he could still be protecting someone and she wanted to know who killed her friend.

_Charlotte's whole body perked up when she smelled Laura Hale coming up the walk way, and she hurried to pull the door open as Melody laughed in the kitchen. For years Laura and Charlotte had been close, even in the time when Charlotte and Derek were avoiding each other and just knowing that Laura was here made Charlotte happy because she was just visiting. Her mother had been back for a while now just outside of Beacon Hills so she wasn't found and Charlotte was thinking about returning to Beacon Hills, but right now she just wanted to say 'hi' to Laura._

_"Oh my God, you're here!" Charlotte exclaimed as she hugged Laura closely. "What are you doing here?"_

_Laura smiled and pulled back to look Charlotte over. "Like I can't smell you guys from a mile away."_

_"I'm going to take that as a compliment, Missy," Charlotte said, wagging her finger playfully._

_"You should—hi, Mrs. Graceland!" Laura said, smiling as Melody came out drying off her hands. "Phasmi is around here too…"_

_"Just avoiding the squealing," Phasmi told her, but she ran over to Laura and embraced her, Laura hugging her back. "So you're really just visiting?"_

_Laura shrugged a little bit. "More like on a hunt for who left this…"_

_She pulled out and held up a piece of paper with a picture of a deer on it, the spiral symbol carved into its side and Charlotte chewed on her bottom lip. This was a very obvious sign and she knew it was important, all three of the Gracelands nodding and inviting Laura in to sit down. They had no way of knowing that Laura would dead in a few days and they had no way of knowing who had done it, but Melody seemed worried. She didn't want to have to deal with anymore vendettas and so she tried to change the subject, but when Laura and Charlotte went on a walk together, they couldn't stop thinking about it._

_"What if it's a trap?" Charlotte asked Laura slowly. "I mean what if they just want to lure us werewolves in?"_

_Laura looked at her. "You mean hunters?"_

_"Yeah…unless you think it's Liam…" Charlotte said gently._

_"No, I think that **you** would obviously think it's Liam because he had a thing for you and in turn, Liam left the pack and became an Omega." Laura pointed out._

_"How is Derek?" Charlotte found herself asking. "Not that I care, obviously, because he left me and is an ass, but…is he doing okay?"_

_Laura laughed and smiled. "It's alright to still love my brother, you know? Derek is doing well."_

_Charlotte didn't even bother to try and deny that she loved Derek because Laura had always known the truth—even before Derek and Charlotte did. She was their number one supporter and had heard both sides of the story, wanting to take her brother's side because he was all the flesh and blood she really had left, but also seeing it from Charlotte's, the almost sister she had always wanted. The Gracelands had been hers and Derek's family since their own had perished in that fire and no matter what, they would all protect each other against every odd._

"We'll meet you in an hour," Charlotte said as she left after Derek.

Derek was intent on trying to regroup and emotionally that meant going to the abandoned Hale house and Charlotte just followed him there. He wanted to get down to the bottom of this and so did Charlotte, wishing that she had something better to say to Derek right now, but she just really didn't and that hurt her. So instead, she took his hand as he stood in one of the old doorways, and rolled up onto the balls of her feet to place a gentle kiss to his lips. Just the brush of them against his, however, made him moan into her and reach out to pull her in close and she wasn't about to fight him on it because she liked his touch more than she was willing to admit.

The kiss grew between them, Derek letting his hands roam up and down her sides and reaching her breast, giving it a squeeze that made her moan. Smirking, Derek slammed her up against the wall, kissing her passionately as he nipped down her jaw line to her neck, other hand slipping down to her waistline and tracing it, threatening to dip under. While she desperately wanted him to slide his hand down her pants and keep this up, she was too aroused and they had a job to do and there were too many things unresolved between them for her to let him keeping going.

"Derek, we need to come up with a plan," Charlotte tried breathlessly, fighting against her urges as his teeth nipped at the hollow of her neck, Derek nodding gently.

"Sex first," he growled, which just aroused her even more.

"Plan first," she said desperately, looking at him with lust filled eyes, their gazes meeting.

All Derek wanted to do right that moment was get Charlotte down in the buff and then have his way with her or let her have her way with him, but they had something to do and she was desperately trying to put a stop to this even though deep down she wanted it too. So, they got a little plan of their own set up and then they went to get Dr. Deaton and after some deliberating about it, Derek knocked him out and put duct tape over his mouth, putting him in the back of the car. Then they drove to meet up with Scott, who had brought Stiles with him, Phasmi driving Caroline there as they spoke because Charlotte wanted the back-up regardless of how that would look to Stiles…maybe it was time that he knew what his almost girlfriend was.

"Well, personally I'm a fan of ignoring a problem until it eventually goes away…" Stiles said nodding.

Charlotte chuckled as she showed up with them, Derek in tow. "Yes, well, this problem isn't just going to go away. What's the plan?"

"Where's my boss?" Scott asked first.

"In the back," Derek replied quickly, Scott and Stiles looking into the backseat of the Camaro.

"Oh…he looks comfortable…" Stiles said rolling his eyes. "You really know how to pick 'em, Charles."

"Stiles, if he _is_ the Alpha, he could rip you apart and I won't let that happen. How long have you know me?" Charlotte asked him angrily. "Your entire life is the answer to that and when have I ever let you just get hurt. _Never_."

Stiles nodding, sad he had hurt her feelings. "Alright, I'll give you that, but your taste in men sucks."

"I'll take it," Charlotte said sighing. "I don't agree with you," she added looking at Derek lovingly, "but I'll take it. Now…what's the plan?"

"You said I was linked with the Alpha so, I'm going to use the PA system inside of the school to howl," Scott explained to Charlotte nodding gently. "Derek said that a wolf howl signaled the rest of the pack, so…"

"So you're bringing him to us…" Charlotte told him nodding.

Derek shook his head. "That's an awful plan."

Charlotte smacked him in the stomach with the back of her hand. "It's a pretty good plan, actually, and we're all ready for this—carry on."

Stiles smiled even though he rolled his eyes at his cousin because she was obviously bossing them around right now, and he helped Scott into the main office as Phasmi and Caroline showed up, both getting out of the car. Charlotte smiled at them because she was glad that they were there, and she noticed that there was a boy in the backseat and she smiled at him, wondering why he was there. The look on Phasmi and Caroline's face seemed to suggest that they wanted to talk to her about him and Charlotte wanted to get to the bottom of it but a sound came through the PA system that made everyone stop in their tracks—it sounded terrible and not like a howl in the slightest.

"You have got to be kidding me," Derek mumbled shaking his head as he leaned against his car.

"Was that okay? I mean that was a howl, right?" Scott asked Stiles.

Stiles made a face. "Yeah, technically…"

"Well, what did it sound like to you?" Scott asked him quickly since Stiles looked so in pain.

"Like a cat being choked to death, Scott," Stiles responded shaking his head.

Scott looked upset and scared. "What do I do? How am I supposed to do this?!"

Charlotte moved toward the car as Stiles helped Scott to dig a bit deeper, smiling at the young man that was introduced to her as Eric Haynes, an 18 year-old boy that Caroline and Phasmi wanted Charlotte to turn. They didn't speak of it out loud as Derek would then hear, but Charlotte knew by the look in their eyes and by the fact that he was smiling at her, sizing her up and not in a sexual or flirtatious way, but trying to figure out what he was getting himself into. When he looked to Derek, Charlotte chewed on her lip and debated this because having a full pack? That meant that this was a reality and she would truly be the Alpha she had always craved to be once again.

"Yes," Charlotte said nodding at them. "Just, yes…"

Suddenly there was another howl, but this was actually a howl and it rumbled through everything and even Caroline seemed impressed by her brother. Charlotte was starting to feel protective though and looked at Eric before she looked at her sister because if this worked, the Alpha was on its way, or Dr. Deaton was the Alpha and Charlotte needed to be alert. Stiles and Scott came out looking pretty pleased with themselves and that was when Charlotte started barking orders when they noticed that Dr. Deaton was no longer in the back seat of the car.

"Phasmi, get Eric to a safe location and I will go over things with him when the time is right," Charlotte explained and looked at Caroline. "The school will be the safest place to hide, so…it's imperative that you protect Stiles when—"

Charlotte sensed the Alpha and whirled around, watching as it attacked Derek, feeling herself morph into a wolf as Caroline went off after Stiles and Scott into the school and Phasmi got back in the car to take Eric away. The Alpha tossed Derek off into a wall to get him out of the way and he needed medical attention and as quickly as possible. She hoped that maybe Dr. Deaton could be an option even though it was still possible it was someone else. Regardless of who it was, Charlotte got his attention and they growled at each other, but she had part of a pack and he was a lone wolf at the moment even if he was an Alpha.

In a fair fight right now Charlotte would kick his ass and for hurting Derek, she planned on it…


	13. Dirty Little Secrets

Caroline more than ever wanted to make sure that Stiles and Scott were going to be okay because she loved both of them—in different ways of course—and she made sure they were safe and sound inside of the school, Scott happier that there was another wolf with him. Phasmi was trying to protect the other part of their almost full pack, and had left as quickly as possible to keep Eric from having to have anything to do with Alphas yet, even though he had to get the bite from Charlotte in order to be truly initiated and he wanted that. Charlotte? She was worried about Derek and fully in her wolf form, claws and teeth bared at the Alpha, who was actually sizing her up, feeling quite menacing himself, but knowing he might just lose.

Still…nothing like a challenge.

In her full wolf form, Charlotte felt like she knew this Alpha somehow, all of her senses heightened and more honed in this state. She took a breath before she lunged at him, hoping to drive him off so she could protect everyone that was now involved since Scott's plan had maybe been a terrible idea and Derek had been right. Now Derek was in trouble and Scott, Stiles and Caroline were in trouble, and all Charlotte wanted to do was make sure that the Alpha left them all alone. Once she got into that 'mother bear' mode, there was really no way of turning back, and as her claws dug into him, he let out a howl and recoiled, Charlotte growling at him menacingly.

Caroline looked out to see Charlotte attacking the Alpha, swallowing down a mix of fear of pride because that was _her_ Alpha out there and she wanted to help, but her job right now was protecting Stiles and her brother and she knew that Charlotte could take an Alpha with no pack. She pushed the two boys away from the door, noting the worried look on Stiles' face and just pushing a little harder than normal, which caught the young man's attention. He was trying to think up ways to save his cousin from whatever terrible fate was undoubtedly in store for her, but now Caroline was pushing on her and she was strong…like a kind of strong he didn't think she should be and he didn't get it.

"If I let either of you get killed, Charlee is going to kill me," Caroline explained shaking her head. "Where would be a good place to barricade ourselves in?"

Scott took a deep breath. "The closest room we can get into."

"Agreed," Caroline said hurriedly and they all ran when they heard more howling.

Outside, Charlotte had definitely wounded the Alpha and he certainly knew who she was now, bombarded with some of her memories, and he turned and took off, leaving her to Derek. Charlotte was to him as quickly as possible and checked his pulse: it was weak, but she was a nurse and she could easily fix him up if given the proper tools and space, so she took him back to her home, not aware that the Alpha was waiting for that. He knew that Charlotte would focus on Derek and so when he was sure she was gone, he went back to the school to wreak his havoc and see if he couldn't try and turn Scott and use him for his own benefit. It didn't matter that Caroline was there to keep him company, though he was really upset that he hadn't gotten to turn her too…now she was under Charlotte's command instead and Charlotte and her pack were going to be in his way.

"That's your boss!" Stiles yelled at Scott.

Scott shook his head. "No!"

"Deaton! Your boss! _He's_ the Alpha, and he's going to kill my cousin!" Stiles exclaimed shaking his head. "He killed Derek, and he's going to kill Charlotte!"

"Charlotte can take care of herself _and_ Derek," Caroline put in, trying to move the giant teacher's desk near the door, but the boys weren't helping her…though she had a feeling that being part of a pack meant she might be able to do it on her own—that was just too suspicious.

"Charlotte wouldn't let Derek die! She wouldn't let us die!" Scott yelled at Stiles.

Stiles made a face. "If she's dead, she can't help that!"

Caroline growled, trying to keep her angry under control to keep the wolf inside at bay. "Help me with the desk and we can bicker like old ladies later!"

Both Scott and Stiles were a little confused as Caroline growled, but for different reasons as Scott knew that Stiles didn't know and Stiles wondered what Caroline was growling like. Still, they helped her to move the desk and were then blind sighted by Stiles' car battery coming through the window…that ruled out the jeep for means of escape. They were stuck inside of the school and the Alpha was just outside, making things so much harder for them as Caroline pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and tried to call Charlotte to fix this.

xx

While Charlotte would kill herself for it later, her cell phone had been low on battery and she hadn't felt it vibrate in her pocket. Instead, she was too focused on getting Derek to the mattress in the basement in her house, lying him down and grabbing some things from her mother's medicine cabinet down there specifically for werewolves. Her mother was out of town currently dealing with some things and that meant they'd be alone on the full moon but Charlotte could handle that—it wasn't about that right now…it was all about Derek.

"You aren't allowed to die on me, Derek Hale," Charlotte told him shaking her head.

She checked his pulse again and it was still there, but faint, and she set to work fixing him up because he _wasn't_ allowed to die. In fact she was a nurse and right now her job was to nurse him back to health, so she got his jacket and his shirt off and set to cleaning up his wounds, making sure he was comfortable and mopping up the sweat on his forehead and trying to keep him warm and yet clean and it was hard on her own…but Phasmi was dealing with Eric and she wanted it that way. If anyone got in her way this would be so much worse than it was right then.

"She's fixing him," Phasmi explained to Eric slowly, her and Eric hanging out in her room.

Eric nodded and took a deep breath. "She's a nurse…our Alpha is a nurse."

"Why do you want to be a wolf anyway?" Phasmi asked him suddenly. "I mean, yeah, being a werewolf can be kind of cool, but it also sucks and the full moon? It's a bitch."

"I have no one," Eric explained slowly with a shrug. "My parents are gone, I've been living on my own and you and Care? You're the only people I have and I just…I want to be part of this."

"Charlotte thinks of her pack as her family, you know," Phasmi told him nodding, "You have to be willing to be with us. Us against the world."

Eric nodded slowly. "Us against the world."

He smiled because he loved how protective Charlotte was and it would have made him be even more proud of his decision should he have seen the salty droplets rolling down her face. Just the thought of Derek dying was killing her inside and for a moment she felt like she just couldn't breathe and she paused to look at him. Leaning down, she rested her lips gently on his and whispered against his mouth, Derek breathing in, tasting her scent on his tongue and yet too weak to move.

"I can't live without you," Charlotte whispered, pressing her lips to his in a kiss. "Please don't leave me."

Derek Hale, had no intention of leaving Charlotte Graceland…now he just had to prove it.

xx

"We need to find a room with as few windows as possible," Caroline began after hanging up on Charlotte's voicemail message for the third time. "She can't be dead…"

Stiles shook his head. "She is…she and Derek both."

"No, I can't believe that," Caroline shook her head, pausing when she felt Stiles' hands on her shoulders.

She looked up to have her eyes meet his, smiling sadly when he leaned in close and rested his forehead against hers a moment. Caroline knew that Scott knew and while at first she wanted to pull away, her shoulder sagged and she nodded gently against him because he was just trying to make her feel better even though she felt like she should know if Charlotte was dead. Charlotte was the Alpha and she felt like she would know if the pack was done for or not. She couldn't explain that, she just knew somehow that Charlotte was out there saving Derek.

"You should call your dad," Scott interrupted nodding.

Stiles looked away from Caroline and shook his head. "And tell him what?"

"Bomb scare, gas leak, fire—anything!" Scott tried hurriedly. "If he sees a whole bunch of cop cars he's run away!"

"And what if he doesn't?" Stiles asked him, letting go of Caroline now. "What if he goes all 'Terminator' on everyone and kills every cop in the parking lot? Including my dad!"

"They have guns," Scott shrugged.

"And Derek had to be shot with a wolfsbane laced bullet to even slow him down, remember?" Stiles told him shaking his head.

Caroline swallowed slowly. "No cops—Stiles can't lose anymore family than he already has. I won't let that happen. I just try…your aunt! She's a werewolf too, right?!"

Actually, they didn't know why they hadn't thought of that sooner, and Stiles pulled out his phone to call his Aunt even though he was pretty sure she wasn't an Alpha. Wouldn't that mean that she would be killed too? He got her voicemail, however, and sighed and shook his head as that plan also fell through and then Scott spoke up once again with a new plan.

"What about Derek's car?" Scott asked them.

Stiles smiled at him. "That might actually work."

"We take his car and him," Scott agreed nodding.

"Yeah, whatever," Stiles shrugged in agreement.

Caroline gave him a look. "You realize that Derek is like the love of Charlotte's life, right?"

"I said whatever—we'll take his body too." Stiles said giving her a smile.

"I can punch you, you know?" Caroline asked him shaking her head.

Scott smiled a little bit even though the two were arguing, kind of loving their dynamic and glad they were happy but this was serious. He had to wipe the smile off of his face and clear his throat, both parties looking at him intently because they thought he had something to say to them. Right now they all wanted to get as far away from the Alpha as possible and Scott wanted them all to focus on what was going on in the here and the now.

"Guys...this is a crisis. Argue later." Scott told them simply.

Caroline nodded in agreement and they went for the door to leave, but they heard a noise and hid in the locker rooms, only to be found by the janitor. That beating in their chests was making it hard for them all to think, and then suddenly as they were being pushed near the exit, the Alpha dragged the janitor back into the locker rooms and killed him, trapping them all in the school. This was just getting worse and worse and Caroline was starting to panic, which made her eyes start to glow a little yellow…

xx

Phasmi felt like something was wrong. Charlotte hadn't really come up from the basement and Caroline and Stiles hadn't called to check in. Eric was pacing her room looking at some of her things and she rolled her eyes a little bit because he really did like to touch everything and she didn't know what to do about him at all. All she knew was that she trusted him and she figured that when Charlotte came up she could bite him and all would be well that ended well.

"You think he'll die?" Eric asked her suddenly.

Giving him a look Phasmi shook her head. "No, I don't. I think that my sister loves him more than anything else in the world and she'll save him."

"She's very dedicated," Eric agreed nodding.

"He's her family," Phasmi replied with a shrug. "He's always been part of the family—he's like the older brother I always wanted and regardless of him being a 'sour wolf' like Stiles calls him, he has always given his very best for us and we will always give our very best for him."

"Even if he's in a different pack?" Eric asked, wanting to be sure.

Phasmi smiled a bit. "We're all werewolves, therefore should Derek become an Alpha and get his own pack, we will all work together, but in the end, Charlotte is our Alpha."

Eric nodded because he understood what she was saying and then they both smiled at each other and Phasmi offered to make him some food. They were waiting for Charlotte to come up and not only tell them how Derek was, but bite Eric and then have the minimum requirements to have a pack…and that was when everything was going to change. At that moment, however, Charlotte found herself lying down next to Derek, who was weak, but stirring because he was still a wolf and that meant that he healed faster than a human did.

He leaned his head against Charlotte's, Charlotte smiling a little and moving to lie on her side on the mattress down there, propping her head up on her hand. They made eye contact and Derek felt incredibly calm, happy to see her smiling face looking back at him and also touched she was so determined to save her life. Opening up her mouth to speak, Charlotte was surprised when Derek cut in and yet he always seemed to want to have the first and final word on a subject so she wasn't wholly caught off guard.

"I could have healed up you know," Derek said gently.

Charlotte rolled her eyes. "Admit it, you needed me."

"You were going to fight him to protect me," Derek said instead, looking Charlotte in the eye. "You care about me more than you're willing to admit."

"You're my mate," Charlotte responded, even though they both knew it was because she loved him.

Derek nodded and then closed the distance between them, cringing at the pain he felt because he wasn't fully healed, but that didn't matter to him at all. He let his lips crush against hers before deepening the kiss, fingers slipping into her hair and biting her lip before she shook her head and pulled back and they both knew why: biting made Charlotte hot and bothered inside. It was getting closer and closer to the full moon and there was a mattress under them and hurt or not, Charlotte would easily climb on top of him and take advantage if he pushed the right buttons and she wouldn't let him.

"I won't ever let anything happen to you," Charlotte promised, and then she moved away from Derek and stood up. "Rest, okay? I need you to gain your strength back."

Derek nodded and rested his head back. "I could use a pillow."

"Sure," Charlotte laughed as she nodded, glad he was going to be alright. "I'll get you one and check on Phasmi and Eric upstairs."

xx

Running through the school was one thing, but the Alpha barricaded all of them into the school and Caroline had to close her eyes and catch her breath a moment—slow down her heartbeat. Stiles took her hand and held it in his gently, Caroline feeling like things could be okay because she had her anchor with her and yet they were all freaking out. Especially when they saw the Alpha through a window and he ran at them, making them turn and run as he slammed through the glass and chased them…he could smell the wolves and only one of them really belonged to him.

It was always going to urk him that Charlotte had a pack.

Charlotte was a strong werewolf right now and she could very well kick his ass, but if he got a pack too then he could do this. He could stand up to her and have his power and his revenge and this was actually kind of fun for him…having everyone on the run like this gave him all of the power. The Alpha had a whole plan and what Scott, Stiles and Caroline didn't know yet, was that he had gathered all of their friends together as well to make this all happen the way he wanted it to. It was in the middle of running and hiding that Caroline's phone went off and she swallowed.

"Lydia just texted me and said that my 'stupid brother' dragged them to the school…" Caroline said shaking her head. "No. No, no, no, no, no. My friends aren't supposed to be part of this!"

Stiles nodded and sighed. "We could throw him Jackson as bait…"

"Very funny," Caroline told him, but she considered it.

What bothered her was that she felt like Stiles only said it because he had a thing for Lydia, but they couldn't think about that right now. Instead, they got as far away from the Alpha as possible and ended up running into Allison, Lydia and Jackson, and holding up in the Lobby. Allison had gotten a text from Scott, that wasn't from Scott, asking her to meet him there because it was urgent and suddenly Caroline felt like they were all part of some giant and elaborate trap. Thanks a lot Scott, for howling.

"Finally…can we go now?" Lydia asked them all.

Scott took Allison's hand as the ceiling above them cracked and creaked. "Run!"

They all took off running towards an open room as the Alpha fell through and started to chase them, clambering to close the door and keep it outside and them in. Stiles wasn't happy about it because they were now trapped in a room that had a wall of windows, but they were barricaded into the room now and everyone was panicking. Now there were three people who had no idea what it was that was going on and they had to come up with a story to tell them to keep them all calm. Scott had to think fast and Stiles was the first to speak up as Caroline also tried to think up a convincing lie.

"Somebody killed the janitor," Stiles explained, taking a step toward Allison, Jackson and Lydia.

Allison panicked. "What?"

"Yeah, the janitor's dead," Stiles said, everyone looking at Scott leaning on some chairs.

His back was to them and hearing Allison asking him over and over what was going on was starting to get to him. He didn't know what to say and yet he came up with something and he knew that Caroline would be mad at him for this and should Charlotte be alive out there, she would kill him too but what could he do? It was the only thing he could think up right now and they all wanted to know who killed the janitor and why.

"Scott!" Allison yelled at him.

Scott took a deep breath. "If we go out there, he's going to kill us."

"What?" Lydia asked him.

"We have to stay put," Caroline agreed, glancing at her brother. "It's safer here…"

"Who? _Who_ is it?" Allison asked him.

Scott paused a moment. "Derek…it's Derek Hale."

"I'm sorry, what?" Caroline found herself asking as Stiles gave Scott a look.

Everyone started to panic more but they bought the story and Stiles was actually pretty proud that Scott had thought so fast on his feet. Caroline was much more upset, but they all had to band together to get out, so she'd yell at him later…if they had a later…

xx

Charlotte smiled a little bit at Eric and Phasmi as they had lunch in the kitchen, grabbing a cup of coffee as she took a deep breath. They both looked at her because they wanted the news and sooner rather than later and she smiled a little bit and told them that Derek was going to be just fine, which just made Eric antsy now. He knew that it was just a matter of time now before Charlotte bit him and yet she didn't want Derek to know that she was making a pack and he knew that too…but everyone was going to know he was a werewolf because they'd be able to smell him.

"So how do we do this?" Eric asked Charlotte slowly. "I mean it's obvious that with this Alpha threat, you need the power and so do the rest of us."

Phasmi smiled a little bit. "Let her nurse Derek to health completely first, Kid. Slow your roll."

"I'm just saying," Eric said as he held his hands up in surrender.

"I know what you're saying and you're right," Charlotte responded with a gentle laugh as she sipped the hot black liquid. "We all need whatever edge that we can get with the Alpha right now. I needed to be able to deal out damage, and you guys need to know how to protect yourselves. In fact, the full moon is close and that means that Phasmi and I will be in control of you and Care and you guys have to do everything that I say. The last thing that I want is an accident."

"I'm willing to do whatever you say…you're my Alpha," Eric told her, smirking when she did. "I'm really not just saying that for you to turn me. I know this isn't a walk in the park. I know this is going to be painful, I just…I want to belong. I want to be part of something and you three are like this unit."

Charlotte nodded and then made Derek a sandwich. "My pack is my family and if you can understand that, then welcome, but first…I need Derek to eat."

Nodding gently, Eric let Charlotte leave the room and looked at Phasmi who proposed a game of 'Battleship', Derek looking up when Charlotte came toward him with a sandwich and some milk. She acted like such a mother sometimes and it was endearing, Derek sitting up a little and nodding when Charlotte handed him the plate and pointed at it. Charlotte thought that she was being cute playfully ordering him to eat and drink and little did she know, but to Derek she was the most beautiful thing that he had ever seen. She was his guardian angel and he was blessed to have her.

Sometimes it hurt him that he couldn't come out and just tell her how he felt and right now was one of those times—his insecurities were getting the better of him. Still, he bit into the sandwich and realized that it was his favorite, smiling at her as she watched him fondly and reached out to stroke his hair, chewing on her bottom lip in that way he liked. For a moment he didn't know what to say or to do, but he decided that being playful would help her to see that he was healing and that he was going to be just fine so she didn't need to worry so much.

"This is probably why I love you," Derek said, mouth half full of food.

Charlotte froze a moment as the words hit her ears. "What?"

"This is probably why I like you," Derek said again with pink tinted cheeks, catching what he had said and correcting himself. "You always make the best sandwiches and they're my favorite."

"Yeah," Charlotte responded, though her heart was all a flutter right now. "I'm awesome like that."

For a moment the two just sat there, Derek hating himself for practically taking it back, but he couldn't be that close to her…just in case he lost her, like he'd lost his sister.

xx

"Call the Sheriff," Jackson told them.

Stiles shook his head. "No."

"What do you mean, 'no'?" Jackson asked him.

"I mean 'no', do you want to hear it in Spanish? No." Stiles said. "Derek has killed three people already, we have no idea what he's armed with."

"Your dad is armed with an entire sheriff's department! Call him!" Jackson yelled, and smiled a little when Lydia moved to call him instead.

Lydia paused though halfway through the call. "She hung up on me."

"The police hung up on you?" Allison asked her.

"She said they got a tip about prank calls about a break in at the High School. She said that if I called again they would trace the call and have me arrested," Lydia said bitterly.

"Okay, then call again!" Allison tried hurriedly.

"No, they won't trace a cell," Stiles said shaking his head, "and they'll send a car to your house before they send anyone here."

Allison was really upset at this point asking a lot of questions, but Caroline told her to calm down and Stiles and Scott went to have a sidebar that Caroline could hear. She was upset that Stiles was happy about throwing Derek under the bus like that, but she understood they were crammed for time…that was just bad for a lot of people. Right now they had to get out of the school and they had to get everyone out safely no matter what it was that had been said and done now.

"Okay, new plan," Jackson suddenly said. "Stiles calls his useless dad and tells him to send someone with a gun with decent ammo. Are we good with that?"

Stiles shook his head, but Scott spoke up. "He's right…tell him the truth if you have to, just _call_ him."

"I'm not watching my dad get eaten alive," Stiles said shaking his head and walking away.

Jackson moved to grab him, Stiles turning toward him and punching him in the face for grabbing him. Caroline felt oddly turned on by him in that moment and smiled because Jackson deserved it, and then Stiles called his dad and got his answering machine. The moment was kind of ruined, however, by the Alpha breaking through their blockade and they were forced to flee upwards to the science room, hearing the animal sounds outside as they hid…was this just some kind of sick game? All they knew was they had to get out and they needed a key…it was time for Scott to get out.

He felt like the only way to unlock the door was to get the key but Allison didn't want him to go and yet it was the best plan even if it didn't seem it to those that didn't know Scott's connection to the Alpha in the first place. Now that the Alpha was there and everyone was panicking, even though Caroline was trying as hard as possible to make sure that nothing bad happened to anyone involved right now. They had to get everyone out of the school and if that meant going out into danger, then so be it.

Caroline actually feel bad about what was happening because she wanted to do something about this. Her brother was in love and Allison was in love and while she thought he was a stubborn brat, she wanted him to be happy and when she pulled him in for a kiss since Scott was going to go and do this, Caroline almost felt her heart break. He was taking a risk she couldn't let him take on his own because he was her brother and along with saving him, she'd be saving her friends…and Stiles.

She would do anything to save Stiles.

"I'm going with you," Caroline piped up.

Stiles stepped up next to her and took her hand. "No, you're staying here, Care—where I can keep you safe."

"I'm not going to play damsel while my brother runs off to get himself killed!" Caroline protested shaking her head. "If you think I am, then you don't know me at all."

"Just trust me on this!" Stiles tried, eyes widening as she ripped her hand away from his.

She knew that he was trying to make her understand that Scott was a werewolf and he could take care of himself, but so was she and her eyes were showing it. Caroline's now yellow eyes were blazing into Stiles' and he found himself taking an impulsive step back, which wrenched her heart in two. Closing her eyes she tried to stay calm but Stiles was scared and he was hurt and without looking at him again, Caroline followed after her brother.

xx

"If I do this, Eric…you're my pack," Charlotte explained with a gentle sigh.

Eric nodded as they sat in the living room. "He'll smell the blood, won't he?"

"I'll tell him eventually," Charlotte said quickly, looking at Eric's arm. "This is going to hurt, are you ready for that? For the pain that comes with this?"

"I told you, Char, I know this isn't a walk in the park—the pain is worth it," Eric replied with a smile on his face as he pushed his sleeve up. "I just also don't want your mate to try and kill us all."

"Derek would never do anything to hurt what I love," Charlotte said waving it off as she let her incisors elongate to bite Eric.

She knew that Derek was going to be upset that she created a pack without him, but he was planning on getting his own pack and he couldn't fault her, could he? Charlotte had always wanted to be an Alpha and now she was able to do just that again and maybe this time she could make it happen…but she'd be a pack without a mate. In reality she would still have a mate, but it wouldn't work the same way and she knew that because he wouldn't be part of her pack—he would have his own pack and this would be harder to maintain unless she and Derek worked on it.

Then again, he had let it slip that he loved her and so she was going to wait for him to say it again and not take it back and just do this. She _wanted_ to have a pack and so she bit into Eric's arm, Eric cringing as Phasmi watched from the doorway and nodded…they were a pack. They were a full pack and they were better prepared and that meant that they were all going to have to work together and follow Charlotte to a 'T' but that could be done. The three of them could trust Charlotte with their lives and while Derek would have to get used to this, Phasmi was pretty certain that he could too.

But how would he take this news? And where the Hell were Caroline and Stiles already?

xx

Finding the janitor wasn't that hard because Caroline was pretty good at smelling things out and so was Scott—Caroline was just better. She had Charlotte as a teacher and Charlotte was actually her Alpha, so it was easier for her to learn a bit of control and she looked at Scott as Scott held the handmade explosive in his hand. They made their way to the gym and Scott took a deep breath, needing to talk to her about her and Stiles because he just had to.

"He cares about you," Scott told his sister. "You care about him too…"

Caroline took a deep breath. "This is about the Alpha…"

"He wants us," Scott said nodding.

"He wants you," Caroline found herself saying, taking a deep breath. "He probably only just smelled me out…okay, maybe not."

"What do you mean?" Scott asked her.

Caroline swallowed gently. "I'm just saying it's not me that he wants."

She didn't want to tell him that Charlotte had turned her when Charlotte hadn't even told Derek yet, but it was true that the Alpha didn't want her and so Scott was confused. As he stopped under the bleachers in the gym to ask her to elaborate though, blood dripped onto his cheek and he and his sister looked up and saw the janitor, bloody and displayed like a trap. When Caroline started to tell Scott it seemed like a trap, he was already jumping up to grab the keys and when they jingled, the bleachers started to close.

Grabbing the keys, they just narrowly escaped, Caroline trying to calm her thundering heartbeat down because that wasn't alright at all. No they were in an open gym and the Alpha was right there and Caroline didn't know what to do, but she half transformed and watched as the Alpha charged at them, Scott throwing the cocktail of ingredients at him and it did nothing…well that was wrong. Then she moved to attack, but he grabbed Scott and hobbled him at the legs, pulling him towards and roaring. It terrified her a moment and he took off, Caroline moving to Scott but something happened—he started to turn.

"Scott…" Caroline tried, watching his body convulse. "Charlotte says that you have to find an anchor! Think of Allison! SCOTT!"

Scott screamed in pain. "Charlotte?!"

"She's been teaching me! You have to fight it! Fight him! He can't do this to you!" Caroline told him, but it was too late.

Scott had transformed and something was off about him, and it scared her. This was her brother, her twin, that pain in the butt that she loved more than anything else, but he seemed murderous and she had to transform too to yell him off. He didn't seem to want her though and headed back toward her friends and she had to get there first—she had to get to them and save them. Caroline didn't know what to do, but she got back into the room just as sirens sounded…what was going on?

xx

Derek had a feeling that something was up when Charlotte came down and he smelled blood. She was just checking on him again and she went to plug in her phone, Derek standing up and walking over to her, coming up behind her, chest to her back. For a moment Charlotte's breath caught in her throat, but she could tell that he was smelling her and she moved to get away from him, Derek keeping her there. He wanted to know just what the Hell was going on and she knew that, so she spoke up before he did.

"Eric was wounded, I took care of it," Charlotte said, not really lying, but not telling Derek the whole truth.

He sighed at that. "Yeah?"

"He's better than ever now," Charlotte told him, leaning in and kissing Derek's lips. "My phone was dead. I'm worried about Caroline and Stiles…they haven't checked in."

"Maybe the Alpha never actually went away for good," Derek tried as he shrugged.

That idea made Charlotte's heart beat away in her chest and she quickly looked at her phone as it turned itself back on: missed calls. The fact that Phasmi then came down to say she had gotten a voicemail from a frantic Caroline and was called by Stiles' father, made Charlotte send Phasmi out after Caroline and then she looked at Derek and shook her head. Right now she felt like the worst Alpha in the world, but with Phasmi _and_ the Sheriff on the way, she knew that things would turn out just fine…she just couldn't fail like this again.

xx

When the police showed up, Scott and Stiles told Sheriff Stilinski that it was Derek and that made Caroline annoyed, especially with Phasmi on her way to get them and then there was Stiles. Stiles wouldn't look at her and Scott told Stiles that the Alpha wanted Scott to kill his friends and be in the pack and that made Caroline swallow. Now Stiles thought that was the same for her and Scott did too even though there was something else and Stiles couldn't even look Caroline in the eye, which made Caroline's heart break in two—though it was nice to know Deaton wasn't the Alpha.

Caroline watched as Stiles took off with his dad, Allison breaking up with Scott and she sighed. "So he wants you to kill everyone and you kind of want to?"

"Yeah," Scott told her. "I just…you said something—you said that I was what he wanted."

"Yeah, because I…Scott, you're my brother and I love you so I'm going to level with you," Caroline said slowly, taking a deep breath. "He didn't turn me."

Caroline pulled at the sleeve of her shirt, biting her bottom lip as Scott gave her a look and asked, "What do you mean he didn't turn you?"

His sister sighed, "I... his scratch, it wasn't deep enough to turn me," she started, her words becoming faster. "It was killing me...and Charlotte knew it was killing me." She was rambling now, her words jumbling together but she was sure Scott was keeping up. "So...she told me, about everything, and she gave me a choice...that I took so now I'm part of her pack, and she's such a good alpha and you can't tell Derek, any of this okay? Nothing at all," she said quickly and gripped Scott's hand, looking him in the eyes as he stared at her, his mouth agape.

"SHE _TURNED_ YOU!?" Scott shouted out and Caroline put a hand over his mouth shushing him quickly as she pushed him back against the school sending her brother a look.

"Shut up, Scott," Caroline said quickly giving him a look, as he narrowed his eyes at her. "She saved me," she said moving her hand from his mouth, staring up at her brother. "I would have died Scotty...but Charlotte, she saved me...and she's my alpha...that's how I know he doesn't want me."

Scott bit down on his bottom lip as he let what she said sink in. Charlotte had been the one to do this to his sister? The one that turned her? Not the Alpha like he had been led to believe? But...to save her, so he couldn't be mad, or at least he was going to try not to be mad. What he had wanted was for his sister to get to lead a normal life, but now she had to deal with what he did and while he was mad…he couldn't live with her dead and he knew that.

"Why can't I tell Derek?" He asked quickly, taking her hand in his as she sighed.

"Cause Charlotte hasn't told him she's sort of building a pack...and he'd probably be mad cause I mean, he's just a sour wolf," she chuckled thinking of Stiles before shaking her head, "but you can't tell him Scott okay? This is a twin secret, no one can know; absolutely no one understand?"

"A twin secret...I got it," he said and she smiled when Scott leaned his forehead against hers, "I could have lost you baby sis."

"You're only two minutes older than me, and no, no you couldn't have," she told him before she heard Phasmi's car pull up and she looked over to her. "Come on…let's go see Charlotte."


	14. Bonds For Life

**There's a little sex in this chapter**

Scott wanted to talk to Charlotte about what was going on with her pack and Stiles wanted to talk to Caroline, but Caroline didn't want to talk to him. She was afraid that she was going to get rejected by the one guy that had always been by her side no matter what, and Scott? He was determined to make sure that Charlotte was going to do right by his sister because now that his sister was part of the pack, she was somewhat bound to her. Scott didn't know much about who Charlotte had become, but he certainly remembered who she used to be and he remembered the good times with her, Phasmi and Stiles…but this was different.

Having a pack meant that Charlotte was stronger than she had been before and while he appreciated her mother bear behavior, she controlled his sister. Wasn't that how it worked? She could force Caroline to turn and what if there was more to it than that? What if it was important to keep Caroline away from all of this completely and to just go at it alone like him? All Scott knew for sure was that he wouldn't have any answers unless he talked to his cousin, who had a lot to deal with.

For one, because of him and Stiles confirming it, Derek was a wanted man and though no one knew he was around because Melody was hiding the scent, Charlotte was angry. There had been policemen at her house and she had had to give statements to Sheriff Stilinski and Scott knew that as angry as he was at Charlotte, she was just as angry. That, and she was upset about Derek being 'dead' even though there had been no body, so Scott had a feeling that Charlotte knew more about that than she was letting on. Still, he had to talk to her and it surprised him that Stiles was at her door as well when he got there.

"So…" Scott said slowly.

Stiles looked at Scott coming up the walk. "You're here to apologize, too?"

"I was, uh…here for some answers…" Scott explained, taking a deep breath.

"I'm here to get her to protect Care from the Alpha," Stiles replied looking to the door as it opened.

Phasmi was there and she sighed loudly, not happy to see either of them either, but she let them in and Scott looked at Eric in the living room, looking at Phasmi. Everyone here knew the truth about werewolves and Scott had a feeling that if he just asked her something then she would give him the right answer whether he liked it or not. After all this was Phasmi and she never sugar coated anything at all no matter what the subject matter was.

"He's a wolf…really?!" Scott asked Phasmi angrily.

Phasmi took a deep breath. "Why are you asking when you know the answer to that?"

"You have a full pack already?" Scott asked her shaking his head. "What is wrong with you! These are people's lives we're talking about!"

"Wait, a minute, what?" Stiles asked, utterly confused. "Full pack? What…oh my God. Charlotte. Charlotte has a pack?"

"Do you want the full version, or do you want the angry Charlotte version?" Phasmi asked with a laugh, closing her mouth as Charlotte came down the stairs. "Angry Charlotte version it is…"

Stiles started to protest that he wanted the other version, but Charlotte motioned for them to come up the stairs and Phasmi shook her head at them. She returned to the couch to do some homework with Eric since school had been closed since the incident and it made Scott pause a moment. It kind of made sense given Eric's history with everyone and yet he was still upset and was bound to do what it was that he came here to do. Stiles as well, so he ascended into Charlotte's bedroom with her without so much as another word because when Charlotte was angry, all bets were off—Eric had always kind of had a thing for Caroline.

_Eric liked to spend time with the Gracelands because much like Scott's and Caroline's mother, Charlotte's and Phasmi's mother was more than happy to have people over to play with Charlotte and Phasmi. He normally only chose to go when both Caroline **and** Phasmi were there, but that was because he liked both of them the best. Still, he used hanging out with Scott and Stiles as a pretense and Charlotte always tended to do her own thing…like moon over Derek or play with Laura._

_One particular day, Eric had come over on his bike when Derek was leaving the house in a huff, knowing that Scott and Caroline were due to arrive soon. Stiles was finishing up something and so it would just be him and Phasmi, especially since he knew well enough to know how Charlotte felt about Derek—it was obvious. Derek rarely saw any of them, but Laura said 'hi' on occasion when Eric was there with just Phasmi to do homework or go out to ride bikes around the neighborhood. Mostly, the Hales kept to themselves and Eric didn't even know if Scott and Caroline even really knew them._

_"You don't have to even come back!" Charlotte yelled after him as he huffed out to the sidewalk._

_Laura sighed and reached out to stroke Charlotte's hair. "He'll apologize."_

_"No! I don't want to talk to him!" Charlotte said, going back into the house._

_"Char," Laura said lovingly, following her up._

_"You came at the best time," Phasmi told Eric sarcastically as she fastened her helmet and motioned to the garage. "We're going to go and get Caroline. She doesn't want to hang out with Scott and he decided to have Stiles over there and it's just one big mess. Good thing too, because Charles is in a mood today…"_

_Eric nodded at that, able to tell, going with Phasmi to go and get Caroline, smiling when they got there—he always did like her. She had this spark about her that made him feel bright inside and it made him want more than ever to just say what he felt, but she wasn't like that. Caroline liked him as a friend, as Phasmi did and so he just kept his mouth shut and smiled at her. She was more than relieved to see them and hopped on her bike, loving that her friends were here._

_"So where are we going?" Caroline asked them._

_Phasmi shrugged. "Somewhere that we're not supposed to go, but let's not tell Charles—you know how she gets when she can't control things. That temper…"_

No one spoke for a couple of moments, Charlotte sighing in her button up and jeans and Stiles trying to figure out what kind of tactic to use here. If he didn't still think Derek was actually away, he would think he was with Charlotte because only three of the buttons were buttoned and that screamed 'sex' to him…even though Charlotte had told him more than once since she got back that she didn't sleep with Derek anymore. Still, it was suspicious and as he opened up his mouth to speak, Scott had dived right on in and Charlotte was giving him a look Stiles didn't want trained on him.

"Why did you do it?" Scott asked her.

Charlotte took a deep breath. "Because it was the right thing to do, Scott."

"She couldn't just leave Derek to die, Dude," Stiles admitted with a sigh. "Not her fault the Alpha tricked her—she's just as unstable as you the closer to the full moon it gets."

"That's not what I'm talking about," Scott said as he looked at Charlotte. "I mean, I just…I hate this."

"Care doesn't think it's a walk in the park either, but better me than him," she explained running her fingers through her blonde locks. "She was dying and I had to act."

Stiles stood up from the end of her bed. "Wait a minute… _you_ turned Care? She's part of this full pack of yours? What the Hell, Charlotte?!"

"The Alpha's scratch was killing her," Scott told Stiles with a sigh. "Her body was trying to turn but it was rejecting the bite too much and she would have died had Charlotte not turned her. I don't know why she didn't tell us though…or why she decided to take it this far."

"Do you _want_ to get killed by the Alpha?" Charlotte asked them, nodding when they shook their heads. "Me neither, so I made myself stronger and with my strength my pack is stronger and that means that they can defend themselves and then there's you two. I mean really? Throwing the man that I love under the bus like that? What were you thinking?! _Were_ you thinking?!"

Scott and Stiles both caught the word 'love' before Charlotte did, their whole faces changing as they took that in and beamed at her. For a moment they were both feeling a bit guilty, but then they had gotten something that they could use in the future if they ever needed it and like teenage boys, decided to keep her on that subject. That meant she'd stop yelling at them even though she was really angry and as it was the day before the full moon and Scott was still dealing with his break-up with Allison, they didn't want any more yelling to be had.

"You love him?" Stiles asked his cousin.

Charlotte blushed. "I said the man I 'like'."

"You definitely said 'love'," Stiles said laughing as Scott nodded.

"Get out of my room," Charlotte told them as she sighed loudly. "I will protect Care because she is my pack and tomorrow night I will hunt the Alpha down."

"Won't you be compromised too?" Stiles asked Charlotte as he and Scott moved to leave.

Charlotte smiled at him. "I've been through a full moon or like twenty, so I'll be fine. Just keep your eye on this one and if you're nice, I'll even try and convince Care to return your texts."

xx

"What are we going to do?" Caroline asked upsetting and it's slowly as she flexed her fingers. "I feel like I'm…"

"…itching for a fight?" Eric asked her.

Phasmi laughed as Caroline nodded. "The first full moon tends to be the moon where you think everything is possible. It's where your strength flows, but there's no control. That's why Charlotte and I are going to be there to help—it gets easier."

"Alright, but…Isaac?" Eric asked as Caroline nodded and smiled. "He's like jail bait for you."

"We're friends, okay?" Phasmi snapped as she felt her cheeks burning red.

"Younger men…" Caroline teased, getting a hard push in the shoulder.

The three of them smiled at each other even though Phasmi was blushing and then Eric closed his eyes and tried to take a deep breath. All of his emotions were heightened because of the lunar cycle and he was trying to keep himself under control but it took a considerable amount of concentration that he didn't really have. Caroline reached over and stroked his hair, though she was feeling considerably less in control as well and they just wanted to have Charlotte there to teach them.

"This mating thing…how does it work exactly?" Eric asked slowly, opening up his eyes. "I mean, Charlotte made it sound really intense and where is she? Is she with Derek…mating?"

Phasmi laughed a little bit. "It does involve sex and they're probably doing the horizontal mamba, yeah, but it's a lot more than that. I swear they were mated before they started sleeping together. I know they weren't but I mean…it was a long time coming."

"So you just…pick a mate…?" Caroline asked slowly, curious as well.

"It involves the wolf state and it involves a lot of animalism," Phasmi told them with a gentle shrug. "In the wild, wolves find a mate and they mark them—it's the same with werewolves."

"Mark them?" Eric asked, scrunching up his forehead. "Like…what kind of marking? Males do some strange things out in the wild…"

Phasmi chuckled and shook her head. "It's nothing like a dog marks a tree or anything, it's just a bite and not any bite—a wolf bite. You know how Charlotte explained that wolf scratches unlock memories of the wolf that scratched you inside your mind?" She asked them and nodded when they nodded. "Well, when a wolf lets their fangs out and marks another wolf during sex, they become mates. It's a mark of territory."

"So does that last forever?" Eric asked her.

Caroline wondered why he was suddenly asking about mating after she ran her fingers through her hair and blushed because she had a feeling that it had something to do with his crush on her. That was gone though, wasn't it? Maybe he just wanted to know more about Charlotte and Derek and what that meant for the pack and she kind of wanted to know too. What did that mean about her and Stiles? Did that mean that they couldn't 'mate' the same way since her bite would turn him?

"It lasts for forever unless a mate is challenged and defeated. I mean we're all human and so the rules of the animal kingdom are a bit different, but it remains true. Charlotte has a scar from Derek's bite on the back of her neck and Derek's is on the inside of his wrist. They have been marked so other wolves can smell it and it normally warns them off…like a danger scent." Phasmi explained to them. "It bonds them together and they're far more susceptible to each other's emotions and they smell each other and sense each other better than anyone else. It works in wolves and that's about it. This bond of theirs has been threatened—back in their old pack—but Derek never gave up. Not until he thought that he was going to lose her and then he ran scared."

Caroline swallowed gently. "Sounds like Derek. He doesn't seem very good with emotions."

"He sucks at them," Eric chuckled, shaking his head. "So why can't they admit that they love each other already?"

"If you figure that out," Phasmi began shaking her head, "then you let the rest of us know."

xx

Charlotte remembered it like it was yesterday. The closer to the full moon that it got, the easier it was to remember how this all began for her and Derek and she almost wanted to give in already and feel him there with her…but she couldn't. A challenge was a challenge and she wasn't about to let him win because she won everything and Derek was just trying so hard to change her mind—not that she could blame him because it was becoming almost impossible to avoid each other now and with the full moon approaching they were hormonally imbalanced.

And it all began with a bite mark.

_Mating as wolves seemed like a really terrifying idea, but at the same time Derek and Charlotte seemed really ready for all of this. They were already bonded and happy to be together and Derek wanted this more than he could ever explain to anyone, even though everyone seemed to think that this was really Charlotte's idea in the first place. Charlotte was nervous, but she was pretty sure that it was all go smoothly and Derek had been desperate to have her as the moon got closer and she kept denying him sex so they'd go a bit crazier than usual and have to wolf out when the moon peaked._

_"Are you sure you still want this?" Charlotte asked as they made it to a little place in the woods. "I mean…you can still back out."_

_Derek shook his head, lips colliding with hers. "I couldn't back out even if I wanted to—and I don't."_

_"That's just the horniness talking…" Charlotte teased, but kissed him back hungrily._

_As the kiss escalated, Derek felt his teeth elongating, Charlotte's too, and her claws started to replace her nails under the light of the moon. The whole day had been stressful and all he'd wanted to do was to claim her, but for some reason this was also different—Charlotte was letting him have control. That made him feel powerful and he turned her around, moving her hair from her neck and nipping at it with his teeth as she moaned and whimpered, both of them making quick work of her clothes without a simply care in the world._

_Right now, all that mattered was the moon._

_Derek wasn't entirely sure what was happening when Charlotte dropped to her knees, but he did the same, up behind her, getting into a position he knew would ultimately pan out for both of them. They had never considered themselves to really be all that wild, but when Derek leaned forward and bit her ear as he pushed his flesh into hers, they both moaned loudly and Charlotte felt the incisors come out for both of them, Derek running his along her earlobe. To some, the wolfing out was a little weird, and kinky, but to them it was a natural part of who they were and as Derek put his hands firmly on a log near them in front of her, Charlotte arched, feeling his teeth on the back of her neck—then it happened._

_The prick hurt at first and Derek tasted the copper taste on his tongue from her blood, marking her as his mate and she turned her head to the inside of his wrist. Biting down as well as she felt him setting a different pace, Derek whimpered and then howled, which just turned Charlotte on even more, and even turned Derek on more. They were lost in all of it, slaves to the wolves within, collapsing as they peaked together, Derek pulling Charlotte's sweaty body to him and nuzzling her affectionately. He wanted to tell her that he loved her…in fact he always would after this intense coupling…but he kept his mouth shut and pressed to her, tongues mingling, fighting for dominance._

_Tasting the bond that now held them for life._

Charlotte wasn't exactly the happiest that morning because all she wanted to do was screw Derek's brains out, but she was going to hold out…even when Derek came in her room and it felt impossible to ignore him any longer when her body was crying out for him and her mating scar throbbed—his did too. She could smell Derek and his arousal and while she shook her head, she felt his mouth cover her own and his hand slip up her nightgown, cursing herself for wearing it when this was the full moon tonight. This was when she was weakest and now Derek's fingers were in her underwear stroking her wet folds with the intent of slipping in and making her orgasm right then and there…and Charlotte wanted it… _desperately_.

"You can't be here and you know it," Charlotte tried, wanting to be strong even though her confidence was wavering as she ran her nails along his muscles, making Derek's resolve shatter completely.

Derek growled lustfully. "Your scent is hard to ignore…"

"Oh, God," Charlotte said arching her back, whimpering as Derek teased a little more, turning her head and feeling his hot breath touch the edge of her scar. "Mmm…we can't though…"

"Just let me," Derek told her, growling when she pushed on him.

She used as much strength as she could muster to turn to over, getting off of him and shaking her head, breathing heavily. Charlotte was trying to get her head on straight even though she wanted to just climb on top of Derek and be done with it—but she couldn't just do that. This was a very important day and getting involved with Derek was going to mess with her head and she really couldn't have that on her conscience when she had new wolves to train.

"Derek, I mean it." Charlotte told him shaking her head, her voice shaky but determined.

Derek made fists with his hands, trying to calm his body down. "You are not the only one that is feeling crazy right now."

"Yes, well, I'm the Alpha. Get used to disappointment." Charlotte threw at him to make him get mad instead of wanting to have her as much as she wanted to have him.

"Are you _trying_ to make me angry?" Derek asked angrily, growling at her throwing rank in his face.

For a moment Charlotte just stood there, but then she shrugged and Derek did something unexpected: he let his teeth and eyes show. Now his eyes were glowing blue and his fangs were elongated and Charlotte was feeling more turned on as her scar throbbed. She wanted Derek to sink his teeth in again and it hurt her that she couldn't just let him. Charlotte wanted more out of this and Derek wanted more out of it too even though neither of them were willing to admit it and now Charlotte was just getting defensive about all of it.

"Flashing the teeth and the claws isn't going to make me cave!" Charlotte yelled at him.

Derek growled at her. "If you weren't going to follow through, you shouldn't have touched me in the first place! _That's_ what I'm mad about! I can smell you, Charlee. _Smell_ you!"

"Then obviously today, you have to stay away from me!" Charlotte retorted, also yelling at him now as he was yelling at her in his sexual frustration.

It was hard for her to just ignore this and she knew that it was hard for Derek too, but she was emotionally invested in him and he never truly made it seem like to her that he was just as invested as she was. So, she had to put a stop to it and she certainly didn't want to blurt out anything that she was feeling in case Derek would make her feel bad about it somehow. Right now, Charlotte just wanted to get as far away from Derek as possible even though him calling her 'Charlee' rooted her in place.

"It's not that simple! We're mates!" Derek countered, taking a step toward her.

Charlotte shook her head and headed out the door. "I never said it was simple! Just do what I say!"

xx

Caroline and Eric skipped school because Caroline didn't want to see Stiles and Eric didn't want to embarrass himself. Phasmi didn't really know what to do with them, but Charlotte seemed incredibly preoccupied, so Phasmi took them to the abandoned warehouse they were going to use and though she had a bad feeling about this, she knew that at some point, Caroline and Eric would be like her—controlled during the moon. It was only as they neared the full moon and Phasmi started to tie them up, that she felt like maybe things were starting to get a little bit out of hand.

"It hurts!" Caroline screamed as she tried to think about Stiles, her eyes yellow and her fangs evident. "How do you…?!"

She trailed off and screamed again as Eric did and that was when Phasmi's ears perked up and she had a feeling that there was something else at work here…the Alpha had showed and Charlotte was absolutely nowhere to be found.


	15. Commitments and Accidents

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a little bit of a jump back in time and then catch up to the end of last chapter and then it continues forward...there is also a new important character this chapter.

**There is a lemon at the end of this chapter**

Caroline caught a glimpse of Stiles when she and Eric got to school, Eric tensing up when he caught a glimpse of Lydia there. They were both in a position where they wanted to just act on feelings and urges when they knew that they shouldn't and Phasmi caught on as she dropped them off because she was on wolf duty right now. Charlotte had a lot to deal with because even an Alpha was unfocused during the full moon and even though she wanted to be focused on her pack, Derek had her in a rather unfocused mood and Phasmi understood that.

They were mates after all.

Still, it was kind of annoying for Phasmi that she was the one that was going to have to babysit the new wolves right now. Charlotte promised that she was on her way because she didn't want to have to deal with Derek, but having Derek close to her after all of these full moons without him was bound to have her acting a little crazier than usual. It would be nice to see Derek and Charlotte happy so that they could fall into a routine that made full moons simpler, especially with a pack to take care of, but Phasmi wasn't holding her breath.

Charlotte and Derek were both stubborn and as much as they cared about and needed each other, they believed that sometimes it was best to stand on your own. They were werewolves and they had to be careful and yet still stay strong, and now Charlotte was an Alpha of a pack and she needed to be focused on her pack…but Derek was back. Derek was back, and their mate bond was strong and it was unstable, and that made _them_ unstable as well.

"I'm skipping school," Caroline said suddenly, getting back into the car since she hadn't actually shut the door yet. "I can't do this…"

Phasmi took a deep breath. "Look, as much as I understand, I cannot babysit you two all day. It's different because you're new wolves."

"All the more reason to keep an eye on us, right?" Eric asked her with a smile on his face.

"I am not as patient as Charles," Phasmi told them even though they knew that.

The three of them had hung out a _lot_ in the past and Eric and Caroline both knew that Phasmi wasn't as patient as her sister. Charlotte was the one that could sit around all day if she needed to just to hear a problem explained all the way through and then fix it, but Phasmi didn't like to sit around and do nothing. At the same time, Phasmi was the good cop in her relationship with her sister, and it was because she knew what her sister was capable of and while Charlotte was the good cop to _Derek's_ bad cop, Charlotte was bad cop through and through.

"What happens if we get out of control and you weren't there to fix it?" Caroline asked her, shaking her head. "I can't be around Stiles—he makes me unstable."

Phasmi sighed loudly. "There is far too much of that going around and I hate it."

"Besides, if we contact Charlotte, won't she come too?" Eric asked Phasmi as he buckled himself back in. "With hunters around and Care and I not being entirely focused, I mean she's bound to give up her day to train us, isn't she?"

"My sister has a job," Phasmi said as she waited for Eric and Caroline to get buckled in before pulling the car away from the school again. "I can train you both a little bit, but I'm not the Alpha. I can't keep you both under control if something goes wrong and I need you to know that right now."

"As long as I don't have to go to school, I am perfectly fine," Caroline admitted with a smile on her face.

Phasmi nodded when Eric agreed with Caroline. "Fine, fine…but my rules or I drop you both back off here, understand?"

xx

Derek had never really thought that he was the kind of wolf to stray and to be fair, he never really had, but he'd always thought it deep down. He'd been so convinced that Charlotte didn't love him more than a friend and then along came Kate to give him all of the attention that he had always wanted from Charlotte and he had thought he'd been in love. Sure, he was young and naïve, but the scars of young love were there and Kate was just…Kate. Didn't mean that Derek hadn't ever regretted that, because he had—he'd always thought it would be him and Charlotte.

Their dynamic had always been intense, the bond between them now as mates only strengthened that bond further and right now on his own, Derek was trying to sort out all of his feelings. He loved Charlotte—he knew that—he just didn't know how to say it out loud because there was always one thing or another in between them and getting to be her first was definitely a miracle to him. Derek had been so hurt by Kate and what she had done that he had also seen just how stupid he had been to ever let Charlotte pass him by and then he had her and then he left her and no wonder she was resisting this so much: she didn't think that he truly loved _her_.

She couldn't be more wrong.

_"I don't understand why you can't just tell her," Laura told her brother with a sigh. "Everyone knows that you two are involved— **especially** wolves, because we can smell you two all over each other."_

_Derek took a deep breath. "We're just mates."_

_"God, Derek, I know you're not that dense, alright? You can't **just** be mates," Laura said angrily, "that's not how it works. You two **chose** each other and now you're bonded forever. You bit her! She bit you! Anyone who ever tries to be with you, is going to know that she is a part of you now because that's how it is—that's how marking works! Just tell her that you love her!"_

_"I don't think that this is any of your business," Derek said quickly, hating when Laura was right all the time and she usually was._

_"Your happiness, little brother, is my business," Laura responded with a sigh. "You two love each other and you're good together and I just want you both to actually be happy. She's like a little sister to me."_

_Derek shifted uncomfortably. "I'm just an Alpha's mate—she wanted me to be that part of her pack and so I did, because—"_

_"—because you'd do anything for her, and she'd do anything for you." Laura finished for him, running her fingers through his hair. "Little brother, you love her."_

_"I know I do," Derek said finally, burying his head in his hands. "I'm just afraid this won't last…"_

Derek Hale was not as touchy-feely as he had once been, but he was hardened from so much loss in his life that sometimes he came across as cold and unfeeling. He in fact, had a _lot_ of feelings, he just wasn't very good anymore at letting them come across and he knew that if he wasn't honest with Charlotte, then he was going to lose her and possibly for good this time. No one made him feel like Charlotte did and no one ever would, so acting like this was just going to push her away and he was pretty certain that there was also something else going on here.

He had smelt the blood before and while he had listened to what Charlotte had said, it hadn't been an entire truth and he'd tasted the same blood on her when she'd kissed him. Kissing him after biting Eric had been a mistake, but so had letting her pack wander around where Derek could smell them and it suddenly all clicked for him when the thought crossed his mind. Charlotte had been the one to train Caroline because she had been the one to _turn_ Caroline and _not_ the Alpha. If Phasmi joined the pack—and Derek didn't see why she wouldn't—then turning Eric was just the final step and that meant…

That meant that Charlotte was the Alpha of a complete pack.

At first Derek was furious and he was certainly going to yell at her when they crossed paths again sometime in the next few hours, but Charlotte had asked him to make a pack with her. She'd wanted to be the Alpha of another pack and it was sensible to want to be strong enough to take on this new Alpha in town, but Derek was feeling wounded because Charlotte used to talk to him. Confide in him. Their relationship was damaged and it was breaking his heart. After the full moon was over, Derek fully intended on talking to Charlotte about what was going on between them, and get down to the bottom of this pack issue.

xx

Artemis Mahealani was new to school, but only because she had made the transfer due to reasons she preferred to keep to herself. She was Danny's cousin—their fathers were brothers—and while she spent a lot of time with Danny, living with him was different and of all days to go to a new school, she certainly picked a great one. She sat down at lunch with Danny and took a deep breath, looking around and her eyes landed on Jackson, making her sigh loudly. Danny chuckled, elbowing his cousin in the ribs and then nodding in Jackson's direction.

"Still hate him?" Danny asked her.

Artemis nodded and shrugged. "With a fiery passion…"

"Well, he's still my best friend, so try to be a little nicer to him," Danny explained biting into his sandwich.

"I can't make promises I don't intend to keep," Artemis responded shaking her head and opening up her pudding cup. "I don't know how I feel about these school lunches yet either. What is this?"

"Chocolate pudding," Danny teased even though he knew what she was _really_ asking about.

"How did you get into High School?" Artemis teased back before the two smiled at each other.

Artemis knew all about Danny and his sexual orientation and it had never been an issue, even though at one point she thought that Danny had a thing for Jackson. Then, when the two actually talked about it, she realized that Danny really just wanted a friend and he would never date Jackson because of how rude he was to everyone. Sure, he had his moments, but Artemis hated the jock and preferred for Danny to get better friends and he did have other friends, but Jackson was his best friend. She knew why, as well, and she appreciated it, but she just didn't like him.

Jackson Whittemore was out for himself and he didn't really care who was in his way as long as he achieved his end goal. Admirable as some found that trait of determination, Jackson rubbed Artemis the wrong way and yet she tried for Danny's sake the majority time—not that Jackson didn't know he was hated. Sometimes, Artemis and Jackson even argued in front of Danny and now that they had to see more of each other, Artemis was definitely less than pleased about it. She also didn't understand why someone as smart as Lydia Martin was dating such a jerk, but she supposed it was a popularity thing.

"So, that's Allison he's eating with? The girl I'm just barely newer than?" Artemis asked, nodding when Danny did. "Okay, so maybe I can become friends with her at some point because she knows exactly how this position really feels."

Danny smiled and nodded. "Allison is really nice—she just broke up with someone too."

"Wow…she's new and she already had a boyfriend and then dumped him on his ass? Damn," Artemis said as she ate some pudding. "I can't compete with that…"

"Good, because I don't want you to date anyone at this school," Danny put out there, shrugging. "I'm going to be the protective older brother even though we're just cousins."

"I'll welcome it as long as you don't get overbearing," Artemis responded as she leaned against him and then straightened up to sniff her main course. "It can't be _that_ bad, right?"

Chuckling, Danny shook his head and the two ate, Artemis dashing when she was done so that she could better map out the school because while she knew a lot of people, this was still new to her. She was more of a 'visit a lot and sometimes be a guest at school' kind of girl around here and she had to better acquaint herself. Mainly, she was here because she had to be and so she took a deep breath, running into a boy she recognized but had never really hung out with ever. Danny wasn't friends with Scott, but Artemis knew him by name and knew his mother was a nurse at the hospital…that was about it.

"Oh, hi, Scott," Artemis said, trying to be polite. "Didn't mean to run into you."

Scott paused a moment, taking in her visage. "My fault, Artemis…"

He was feeling really off right now and didn't quite know what to say, looking her over and realizing that he was really out of control. All of his urges were driving him crazy and he was scared of his own behavior. Not to mention he was feeling attracted to the young woman and he knew that couldn't be right…he had _just_ broken up with Allison and he thought he loved her. Artemis and her auburn hair and beautiful smile just wasn't in the cards for him and he knew that. He knew that, right?

"No visitor pass?" Scott found himself asking.

Artemis shook her head. "First day at my new school—you okay? You don't look so good…"

"I…no, I'm off to the nurse. We'll catch up later," Scott said, abruptly taking his leave.

"Okay…feel better!" Artemis called after him.

Maybe it was the stress, but Artemis could have sworn that Scott's eyes had been a little yellow…

xx

Charlotte knew that there was a possibility that she was going to have to face the Alpha tonight—no, she _knew_ that she was going to have to face the Alpha tonight. So she took a deep breath and tried to go to work, but she was feeling so out of it and instead of focusing on her work, she was getting distracted by blood bags and thoughts about Derek because she was completely unable to think of anything else. Taking her leave by pretending she was sick, she decided to do something else…be more pro-active.

She had some time before she had to go and see her pack, and so she went to go and see if she couldn't check in with Peter. Charlotte wasn't family, but the nurse knew her and let her in and she took a deep breath as she looked at Peter, feeling like something was off, but not sure what. When the full moon hit, normally Charlotte was able to control herself, but for some reason, having Derek around her and not having their routine down had her all over the place emotionally.

Peter would understand.

Of course Peter wasn't really all that responsive, but Charlotte needed to at least get all of her feelings out because she was feelings childish. Normally she was a lot more mature and in control, but with Derek it was like she reverted to a love sick puppy and she wasn't a puppy—she was young wolf. She was this beautiful, independent, warm young woman and Derek might have been her mate, but she wasn't supposed to put him first.

"I know there isn't much that you're going to do here, but Derek and I are having issues and I just…how do mates do this? Not know if they should be mates?" Charlotte asked, looking at Peter as he stared blankly ahead. "I mean I love him, but he just…"

She trailed off because she had just admitted out loud that she loved Derek to his uncle and she couldn't tell him and it bothered her. Her heart started to beat rapidly in her chest and she just didn't know what she was going to do because she loved him: Charlotte Graceland was in love with Derek Hale. It wasn't as if she didn't know that either, she just felt like he was never going to understand that or feel the same way because just because he was lying about not loving her, didn't mean he was _in love_ with her.

"Something is different about you," Charlotte said, deciding to change the subject. "I don't know what is going on around here, but I'm going to figure it out because Derek deserves answers and Laura deserves justice. If you can't give me a sign, than don't, but if you're the Alpha, Peter…I'm going to put you in your place."

xx

Phasmi remembered everything that had happened to her earlier in the day, her life practically flashing before her eyes as the Alpha snarled at her. Something about him was familiar and yet she didn't have time to think about that at all: she had to protect Eric and Caroline, who were in between human and werewolf forms right now. They were unstable and in pain and right now they needed Charlotte, who was on her way, but would she get there in time? All Phasmi knew, was that she was going to have to act and she was a little worried about that.

She made her transformation, the Alpha charging at her, catching her off guard and making her want more than anything to just have Charlotte here. Sure, she was stronger because she was part of a complete pack, but she was up against an Alpha and the only one who could actually hold her own was Charlotte. Fighting against him, Phasmi found her side getting slashed by razor sharp claws and she cried out, Eric and Caroline both pulling free of their restraints and Charlotte wasn't there yet. Moving past the Alpha quickly, Phasmi tried to get to Caroline and Eric, but they were not themselves and they were looking for a kill.

"NO!" Phasmi cried out.

It seemed as though the Alpha was just toying with them, because she found herself on her own, wounded, looking for two Betas and having to sniff them out. She quickly called Charlotte, who had to transform as well, both of them following the scent that led to a scream. Eric had found a girl walking home on her own, Caroline with him, the Alpha near them like he was trying to prove a point and that was when Charlotte lunged at him, fangs bared, red eyes glowing. He met her head on, claws clashing, but Phasmi knew that Charlotte had the upper hand and hurried to where Eric and Caroline both started to tear at the girl with their claws, but they only got one lunge in before the Alpha went in to finish her off.

Phasmi was feeling lightheaded and sore, but she threw herself at Eric and tackled him down to the ground, the Alpha stalking off when Charlotte bit into his arm and tore, standing up and taking deep breaths. Blood stained her mouth, but she managed to roar at Eric and Caroline, both of them scared out of their minds and cowering in the alley way, Phasmi sitting down because she really didn't feel very good. Caroline was the first to look over at the girl she recognized from school, and shook her head as she looked down at her bloody hands.

"I…I…no…" Caroline said on the verge of tears.

Charlotte hurried over to her and Eric and reached out for both of them. "Transformations turn us into our worst nightmares and this was bad…but this was the moon. This was the first full transformation and you both did as well as you could without me there—this was my fault. I was too distracted and I can't be distracted. You're my pack."

"How is Phasmi?" Eric asked as he nodded, Caroline staring at her hands.

"She needs medical attention and I know just the vet to help," Charlotte explained as she stroked Caroline's hair, Eric getting up to help the girl as Phasmi did as well. "Caroline, I will help you to never have to go through this again, okay? You're my little wolf and I have you…"

Crying, Caroline nodded and let Charlotte pull her into an embrace, hating herself but knowing that part of what Charlotte had said was true. So she nodded and let Charlotte help the girl to the hospital, Caroline and Eric taking Phasmi to Dr. Deaton because she had wounded by an Alpha—those kinds of wounds didn't just heal. After getting everyone the attention that they deserved, however, Charlotte ran her tongue over her teeth and felt her stomach go queasy because she was pretty certain that she knew exactly who the Alpha was and it didn't sit well with her.

Heading home, Charlotte went to take a shower, Phasmi in bed with pain killers in her system, Eric and Caroline in the guest room with her because they hadn't wanted to go home and Charlotte wanted them to feel at home. Her mother was out of town and totally equipped to handle herself, so Charlotte almost felt like the momma wolf looking after her young and she gasped when she saw Derek there. He smelled like the outdoors and mildly like Scott and it dawned on her that something had happened. This was all really bad and she took a deep breath.

"How did Scott do and what did the hunters do?" Charlotte asked him.

Derek paused before answering. "They know there's a Beta other than me and I told Scott the rumor about how he can be not a wolf anymore because he really hates this. Nothing compared to you not telling me that you made a pack though."

"You didn't want to be in my pack," Charlotte shot at him, confused right now.

She was angry and so was Derek, but it was the full moon and their mating scars throbbed and they just wanted to rip each other's clothes off. It was a normal full moon feeling, but Charlotte had wanted so desperately to resist until this moment. She had her reasons and she knew that Derek had every right to be mad at her, but she didn't _want_ to fight—she just wanted to be intimate with Derek. Sure, she'd regret this later, but she…no. She wouldn't regret this. She never regretted being with Derek, she just wondered if he loved her as much as she loved him.

"We have never been this distant with each other!" Derek yelled at her, getting in her face. "We have some serious trust issues and I hate it!"

Charlotte nodded in agreement. "I hate it too!"

Before Derek knew what was happening, Charlotte's lips had collided into his, crushing against his feverishly. Derek responded almost immediately, his body basically sighing with relief at her touch even though the touch sent his sense on fire with desire. He wanted to be all over her, helping her out of her clothes as she groped at his and tugged at them to get them out of her way. Even if he wanted to keep arguing with her, he never would because this was what he had wanted since she'd let him into her house the night he had come to her when he'd come home.

"I thought you were holding out," Derek whispered as he nipped at her earlobe.

Charlotte shook her head. "We both knew I wasn't going to make it…"

As much as she wanted to believe that she could have held out, she knew that sooner or later she and Derek were going to end up here and she allowed him to push her down on the bed, moaning as his skin collided with hers. Her nails immediately started to run along his muscles, arching her body up into his like she couldn't exist without him being closer, fingers tangling in his hair as his hand wandered down her naked flesh, a finger suddenly appearing between her legs and disappearing inside of her, making her gasp and then moan again at the feel of him.

"How about…deeper…" Derek whispered, pushing the fingers in a bit deeper, rewarded by another lustful whimper. "You like me deep…"

Charlotte shook her head even though it was a true statement. "Talking dirty to me is unfair."

"You know what else is unfair?" Derek asked her slowly.

She wanted to ask and she was going to, but Derek was already on the move down her body, hands running along her soft skin and mouth kissing her thighs. Charlotte parted her legs for him and bit her bottom lip hard as she felt his hot breath between her thighs. Opening up her mouth and arching a little bit, Charlotte felt Derek's tongue trace where his fingers had been, mouth clamping down on her clit and making her moan loudly. She was already wet, but she was getting more and more aroused the more his tongue traced and his mouth sucked, gripping his hair and arching herself against his mouth as his tongue slipped in.

Charlotte let out a moaning gasp as Derek moved his tongue inside of her, gripping his hair tighter and writhing underneath him. He knew just what to do to her to make her putty in his hands and her claws were literally coming out as she wiggled under him, mesmerized by his tongue flicking and lapping at her. Her pleased sounds just made him continue until he felt her yank at him, Derek lifting his head and making direct eye contact with her and nodding as she pulled him up to her, pressing his lips to hers and letting her taste herself on him before he found himself being flipped over underneath her. Just like that she was shifting down his body, kissing down his naked torso.

Derek grunted underneath her, tilting his head back against the pillows as she unfastened his tightening pants and slipped them down his legs. He knew exactly what was coming next when he felt her mouth on his abs, nipping and kissing only to find their way to base of his member, nipping and sucking and making him moan underneath her. They were playful like this at times like this and he smiled and gripped the sheets as her mouth roamed along him, her hand playing with his ball sac for added pleasure for him right now.

"Fuck," he whimpered as his tip disappeared into her mouth, tongue on his slit. "Charlee…"

She smiled and nodded, taking more of him into her mouth as she tried to reciprocate the pleasure for him, but a word escaped his lips she almost didn't catch, making her stop. Derek paused too, hoping she hadn't heard, but knowing she had, and so he pulled her naked body up over his and stroked her hair, pressing his lips to hers and reaching down between them before Charlotte whimpered into his mouth, his flesh in hers now. He rocked up, kissing down her neck to her sternum, letting his teeth elongate.

At first, Charlotte was too blissful right now to pay attention to what Derek was doing, but as he traced a spot to bite to mark her freshly as still his mate, she found herself gripping his neck. She wasn't going to strangle him, but it was the only place she could grab and Derek was caught off guard because it was obvious that she didn't want him to mark her as his mate…but why? Sure, the bite he had already left on her marked her to others, but if he didn't keep his bites fresh, the scent would continue to fade and he didn't want the mating scent to fade.

"Just stay…" Charlotte whispered, kissing him and moving against him at a set pace.

Derek nodded slowly even though he was disappointed, pushing Charlotte over the edge before he went over himself, holding her close to him as she panted against his mouth. They made eye contact and to his surprise she smiled, closing her eyes and kissing him gently as she rolled off of him and kept his body close to hers. She wanted him to stay the night and he was going to do just that, but why couldn't he bite her? This was what he had been looking forward to: getting Charlotte to cave, and re-marking her. So why wasn't she on board? It would help him to prove to her that he was here…that he loved her.

"It's not the new pack," Charlotte whispered as she tried to grasp at the real world again, arms wrapped around Derek, lips brushing across his peck. "I just don't think we're ready to make this commitment again now that we know just how serious it is."

Derek nodded gently, kissing her forehead and cupping her chin as she looked up at him. "I always knew how serious it was, I just wanted you, Charlee. It's never just sex for us, you know? It never was, and it never will be."

"I know," Charlotte whispered even though she was glad to know he hadn't meant it the first night.

Nuzzling his chest with her nose, she asked him to stay and that was what he wanted, so he held her close through the night, falling asleep in her embrace and feeling for the first time in a long time, like he was actually home.


	16. This Secret Changes Everything

Derek hadn't felt this good in a _really_ long time.

Waking up with Charlotte almost felt like a dream, but the sunlight kissed her skin as it streamed in her window, Derek smiling at her. He reached out to stroke her hair, smiling more when she groaned a little in protest at waking up, but moved her body closer to his, their naked flesh brushing against each other's. It made Derek lean in to kiss her, Charlotte returning the kiss hungrily and then nipping at his lips, making Derek moan and nip back.

It was the small, animalistic parts of their relationship that turned them on the most, both of them already so connected that this just made it worse. Their bites throbbed a little and Charlotte gasped when Derek got on top of her as she lay on her stomach, moving her hair away from her mating scar. It made her growl even though she really _did_ want Derek to bite her again, and Derek let his teeth elongate to mark her when she moved. Suddenly, Derek was on his back, and she was on top of him, pinning him to the mattress, him between her legs.

The view of her naked body above him and her blonde, slightly messy hair in her face made him a little harder than he had been waking up, and he grunted. Like always, however, when he tried to get the upper hand she had him pinned there and her eyes flashed red to show that she meant business, her inner Alpha showing and that just turned Derek on more. He smirked and his eyes flashed blue, making Charlotte smile and lean down to kiss his mouth, Derek matching the rough, passionate kiss with one of his own.

"No, biting, Mate of mine," Charlotte growled against his mouth happily. "Though…I won't say 'no' to spending a little more time in bed with you…"

Derek frowned gently. "I don't get why marking you as my mate again is such a big deal, Charlee—you're already my mate."

"A fresh mark means a fresh scent," Charlotte told him as she took a deep breath. "Fresh awareness, fresh—"

"—I will never want a mate other than you," Derek said quickly, cupping her face and then kissing her as he caught her off guard.

"You just want the rush of tasting my blood," Charlotte teased before she kissed Derek again, letting her body press against his. "I just don't want you to regret it, or to do it for the wrong reasons. I feel like you have this way of thinking you're losing me and then you just kind of…make rash decisions. I do the same thing. I don't want you to—"

She groaned, but Charlotte smiled as Derek rolled his eyes and closed the distance between them, kissing her, lips crushing together. Charlotte was more than alright staying in this position and then getting Derek to cave and go again because it was nice to know they could do this sex thing again, but Derek was figuring out something else. It wasn't that Charlotte didn't want to be his mate—it was that she wanted them to be mates again for the right reasons. That meant that Derek was going to have to tell Charlotte that he loved her…he was going to have to say the words.

_"You realize that making nice with my sister is more than just being nice to her, right?" Phasmi asked as she made herself some tea._

_Derek took a deep breath. "Is this seriously about the 'l' word again?"_

_"I know that you hate to hear it, but my sister needs more than just you," Phasmi explained with a shrug. "She loves you too and she needs to say it, but she's afraid. What happened with Kate was hard on her—you have to make her understand that it's about her and **not** about Kate."_

_"Charlotte knows that this isn't about Kate, or have you not seen us lately?" Derek asked, avoiding it all because he knew that Phasmi was right._

_Phasmi knew that the two of them loved each other and were just afraid to say it, but it was a lot more than that: she saw them getting comfortable and yet still being guarded. They were being cordial and training Scott and all of that, but Charlotte and Derek were avoiding a subject that they actually had to talk about and Derek knew that. He was aware that Charlotte knew it too, but he was the one that had to make this move and he really didn't know how to say it._

_"It's only three words, Derek," Phasmi said as she sipped her tea, heading out of the kitchen._

Derek pulled back and looked Charlotte in the eye, Charlotte smiling a little bit and lowering herself against him a bit more, face close to his. He opened his mouth to just say it, Charlotte swooping in, instead, kissing his mouth and then his chin, starting to nibble down his torso when he gripped her hair and tenderly tugged, making her look at him again. The look in his eyes was enough to make her pause and nod, her heart beating rapidly as Derek's did the same, almost like she was anticipating this next moment that was going to happen between them.

She stroked his hair and his stubble, Derek smiling at her as pleasant shivers went through him, making him shudder a little pleasantly underneath him. Then he opened his mouth and began to speak, Charlotte's phone going off, the moment ruined and her attention on her phone. It was a scary yet necessary step for them, but Derek couldn't do it now, so he just settled for shaking it off and stroking her hair as she answered and talked to Stiles: oh, so it was _Stiles_ that had ruined this for him.

"I do think that a regroup is in order, but you have school," Charlotte reminded Stiles, taking a deep breath. "Besides, you and Scott owe me for turning on Derek in the school. Until I figure out how to get my mate's name cleared, you are both still on the naughty list."

Derek chuckled as Charlotte explained about Derek still being alive even though Scott had filled Stiles in already, and then she hung up on Stiles and kissed Derek tenderly.

"I think I'm going to wear one of your shirts today…" Charlotte mused, smirking at him. "I quite enjoy smelling like you…"

Derek growled in approval and flipped them over, knowing she was letting him win this. "First I'd like to try last night over with less anger…"

xx

Scott was trying to figure out what it was that he felt for Artemis and also wished that his sister wasn't spending all this time with Charlotte and the pack right now. He understood it, definitely, knowing that Charlotte could keep her and her pack in line, but he'd heard about the girl and the accident and he was worried about his twin. It was hard for him to see her like this and then he would have down time from thinking about danger and instead of thinking about Allison…he thought about Artemis. It had been forever since he had seen her and she had just smelled so damn good, that he didn't really know what to do about it—was it just a full moon thing?

Charlotte would know.

Hell, Derek would know, but Scott trusted Charlotte far more than he trusted Derek and with Charlotte as his sister's Alpha, he knew that he had someone to turn to. Charlotte might have been born into this and not turned, and she was certainly more ruthless than Derek could ever dream of being regardless of her mothering soft streak, but she seemed like a good teacher. Besides, she thought of her pack as her family and so he knew it was more than station for her and that meant that Caroline was in good hands—Stiles believed that too.

Stiles had wanted to see his aunt, but she wasn't home yet and when Charlotte came down the stairs followed by an actually grinning Derek, Stiles averted his eyes when he was in the house. He made a face and Phasmi laughed, Eric and Caroline in the living room playing video games, completely aware of what Charlotte and Derek had been up to—all of the wolves in the house could smell it. Scott was on his way to talk to Charlotte about some things, wanting to hear from another Alpha since he was trying to get more on board with this and all that was happening around them, and Stiles had just beaten him there, hoping to have a little family time and finding a pack.

"So much for Derek Hale being a sour wolf," Stiles said, eyes still averted as Derek straightened up and shrugged.

Derek stood next to Charlotte. "We survived the full moon without an actual casualty in the pack."

"Yeah, but I have damage control to do," Charlotte admitted, as she tugged on Derek's white tank top shirt and tried to cover her bra more since Stiles was here now but it was to no avail. "I'm surprised Care hasn't tried to dash out by now."

"I feel safer with you, Charles," Caroline admitted as she and Eric focused on their Halo game. "Stilinski and I can be in the same room together."

"Our problems?" Derek asked Charlotte in a quiet voice that all the wolves heard and Stiles just barely heard.

"Not as severe, but yes," Charlotte admitted with a sad smile.

Derek nodded in understanding but didn't want to talk about it anymore, not actually caring much about Stiles' problems, Stiles catching Charlotte smile at Derek and Derek smile back a little as he looked at her lips. It was obvious that he couldn't get enough of her right now and suddenly there were images of mating going through Stiles' mind and he gagged and squinted his eyes shut because thinking about his cousin like that bothered him. He grabbed Charlotte by the hand and dragged her into the living room, Derek growling gently, but letting it go as he followed them in.

"I heard about the accident," Stiles said as he tried to get down to business.

Eric sighed and paused the game. "Why do you even care?"

"Because it affects me," Stiles told him, clenching his fists when he saw how Eric looked at Caroline.

"I said I was going to do some damage control, and I will," Charlotte said quickly, shrugging and making attention rest on her. "Though, damage control also means that you and Scott need to help to keep Derek safe…and I need to do more investigating about the hunters."

"What about the Alpha?" Scott asked, coming into the room.

Phasmi and Caroline had told him to let himself in and so he had, settling down next to his sister, smiling as she rested against him. Right now this affected _all_ of them, and if Charlotte was giving the orders, then they would all fall right in line if need be because it was up to them to make sure that things happened according to some sort of plan. They wanted to be a step ahead of the Alpha at all times and right now Charlotte was: Charlotte had a _full pack_. That meant that Charlotte was already stronger than the Alpha and it meant that should she need to fight him right now…she could.

"I will deal with the Alpha," Charlotte said quickly, shaking her head. "I can do that, you just focus on Derek."

Stiles made a face. "Really? Babysitting your boy toy?"

"Charlotte is more than capable of doing this on her own," Derek told Stiles as he narrowed his eyes at him. "You two made this mess and you two are going to clean it up."

"They're already Big Bad Momma and Papa Wolf," Phasmi laughed as she nodded. "I am still a tad sore, but I've healed up a lot and I think it's time we showed this Alpha what was what."

"Care isn't going anywhere," Scott said quickly, Stiles agreeing.

Caroline pulled away from her brother and frowned. "I'm stronger than you, Scott—I'm part of a full pack and I want this Alpha dealt with."

"I said 'me'," Charlotte piped in before anyone could say anything else. "This is a school day and you're all going to get dropped off by Phasmi and then I will deal with the Alpha. If I need help, I'll let you know, but I'm stronger and I can do this. End of discussion—I said 'end'."

It seemed as though she had said all she had wanted even though everyone started to speak up because she left the room. She wanted breakfast and some coffee, and Phasmi filed everyone into their mother's van and took them to school, Derek resting his hands on the counter as Charlotte brewed the coffee. Charlotte knew that she wanted to do this on her own, but she had pretty much let it slip out there that she knew who it was and keeping secrets was more Derek's style than hers.

"You know who it is," Derek told her, nodding when she did. "So who is it?"

Charlotte swallowed and looked him in the eye. "First we get the hunters off of your scent."

xx

Phasmi wanted to spend time with Isaac.

It was strange to like a younger man, but at the same time, Phasmi barely saw the age difference between and it was nice. Spending time with Isaac made Phasmi happy and Isaac was beginning to notice these days how her face lit up when she saw him: tonight was just a night. He was working in the graveyard trying to do his shift, when he saw Phasmi come bearing hot cocoa and that smile that she had only for him…somehow he knew that. She was certainly the light in his life right now and nothing made him happier than spending time with her.

"Just cocoa?" he teased a little, walking over to her and hugging her back as she threw her arms around him in a welcome hug.

She chuckled and pulled back to push on his shoulder playfully. "Yes, just cocoa. It's a bit chilly tonight—sorry I cancelled last night."

"It's okay…I understand family things," Isaac said with a shrug.

He'd missed her, but he also understood that family was important to her and he had no idea about the whole full moon thing. Strange things had been happening in Beacon Hills recently but he had no reason to suspect that she was a werewolf and she didn't know how to tell him…she didn't want to scare him off. Isaac Lahey already meant so much to her and though she'd definitely tried to turn people in the past and failed as she wasn't an alpha, she wasn't that wolf anymore. She'd matured a bit and grown and now she was a Beta in her sister's pack and that was all she needed—that and Isaac.

It was too soon for her to be _this_ attached to him, but she really couldn't help how she felt and she was happy that he helped her to spread out the blanket and just sat with her. Then she leaned against him and looked up at the stars, knowing that she should probably be somewhere else, but right now she was perfectly fine where she was. She and Isaac were sharing hot cocoa and then he opened up his mouth and asked her a question that she hadn't really known how to answer yet, but it had been a long time coming and she had to answer him.

"Are we…a couple?" Isaac asked her. "I mean we've kissed and you bring me things and we…never mind.."

He trailed off but Phasmi smiled at him. "We're a couple, just…we're a couple."

"Okay," Isaac said nodding, but it was obvious that he was grinning now.

She had just made his night, and him being happy had just made hers, the others not really having as a great a night as they were. Getting the hunters off of the scent was easier said than done because Derek wanted to talk about this symbol he'd found and talk to a teacher and the symbol? On Allison's necklace. That meant that it was important to the Argents and Charlotte wasn't very happy when a high speed chase happened while she was with her pack running some drills. She had been trying to keep them in shape because she might need backup with the Alpha and yet having Derek come home that night basically telling her he had to go, made her more than a little upset. Instead, she told him to stay because the house was the safest for him: her mother had gotten home that afternoon.

The Argents weren't going to try anything with Melody there even though Kate had thought about it, Charlotte was sure, and she wanted Derek safe. So the night was spent with them wrapped up in each other's arms, Charlotte passing out pretty quick from the training and Derek holding her close to him, waking up without her and then having a family breakfast with Melody, Phasmi and Charlotte. Charlotte didn't have to work that day and so she and Derek went to see Stiles and Derek had to stay hidden: he was still wanted after all, much to Charlotte's dismay. Sheriff Stilinski also had to come home and it made Charlotte chuckle, beaming when she saw her uncle.

"It's my Charlotte!" he exclaimed, hugging his niece. "What are you doing here? Stiles hasn't done something terrible, has he?"

Charlotte smiled and laughed, waving it off as Stiles made a face. "No, no, I'm just helping him with some science homework—he's been good, I swear."

"Alright, good. How is your mother?" Sheriff Stilinski asked her.

"She's great—back from her trip and planning a good ol' family get together dinner that you two will be invited to," Charlotte admitted with a grin. "You should call her, actually. I'll get this one set up with his homework and you can see how she is. I know she was going to call and give you highlights."

"I will go do that now," Sheriff Stilinski responded as he kissed her forehead. "Don't let him distract you!"

Charlotte chuckled and then they went into Stiles' room and she sighed at Derek's face. "Derek, we have matters to attend to and then I'll make it up to you."

"No…no, no, no, no, no—no mating!" Stiles exclaimed, shaking his head. "If I don't get to have sex—"

"—I still will," Charlotte finished with a shrug and a cheeky grin.

That seemed to make Derek happier, up until they found out that Scott didn't have Allison's necklace yet and they needed to hack into a phone. That meant enlisting Danny to try and get into the phone to figure out where the bogus text to Allison came from, but Charlotte knew about Artemis being back in town and she also knew who sent the text: the Alpha. So, she told Stiles not to get Danny because fun as that would be to convince him to help, Charlotte had to come clean.

"You know who sent the text?" Stiles asked her.

Charlotte took a deep breath. "Derek, you trust me, right?"

Stiles wanted to be upset that Charlotte was changing the subject and dragging Derek over into the corner, but he knew that look on her face and it made him smile a little bit. Derek couldn't be all bad if Charlotte loved him as much as she obviously did and he knew that Caroline was mad at him and Scott for babying her…but that was how he looked at Caroline: he knew that. She was his everything and she always would be and Derek seemed so much calmer when he was with Charlotte.

"Of course I trust you," Derek told her, sighing. "I just…you're not normally this secretive."

Charlotte bit her lip. "Because this is a big secret and it changes everything."

"Charlee," Derek said, shaking his head, slipping his fingers into her hair and resting his hand on her neck, thumb stroking her jaw, "it won't change anything. I lo—"

"—Peter is the Alpha," Charlotte cut in, not wanting him to say anything that his anger would make him regret, her heart thumping away in her chest that maybe Derek was finally going to say those words that she'd been hoping her would for years now. "When I bit him last night I tasted his blood—it's him."


	17. Confronting Peter

Phasmi had been doing a lot of thinking since seeing Isaac, heading to her house to find her mother after she had finished her class on the college campus, and taking a deep breath. Melody smiled at her youngest daughter and then the two of them sat down with some tea to watch a movie, Melody trying to figure out what to say because things were so different than they used to be. Her eldest daughter was an Alpha and she had her own pack and it was only a matter of time before her husband entered the picture because their family pack was no longer the way that it had been…their children were all grown up and maybe having the Alpha back would be better…maybe.

Charlotte had gone out on her own to find a way to become an Alpha, sure that it was what she was destined to be and Melody had encouraged it. Of course she didn't want her daughter to kill, but she and Phasmi had always embraced being wolves over being human and had even tried to turn a person or two before their father had to step in and tell them that only Alphas could do that. So, Charlotte had gone off even though he'd told her not to and not only got romantically involved with Derek Hale, but had found an Alpha and killed him to become an Alpha…leaving her family pack technically.

When she and Derek had created their own pack, Charlotte made sure she and her pack were safe, but unforeseen complications happened—well, mostly. Melody had a feeling that the two young wolves weren't ready for this, and only because Charlotte was the only woman in a pack full of men and she was the Alpha…Derek getting challenged by Liam was bound to happen. What was also bound to happen, was two young wolves who didn't fully understand this mate bond, getting emotional and in turn Derek leaving Charlotte alone…an Alpha without a pack.

Sometimes Phasmi wondered how Charlotte forgave him for that.

Still, Phasmi had now left the family pack as well to be part of her sister's and Melody was alright with that, but having a pack meant that Beacon Hills had more wolves and that alerted the Argents. Melody and the Argents had a rather complicated past too and even Melody didn't like to talk about it but she was worried. Chris knew about Charlotte and she had to keep her children safe, but Charlotte also had to control her pack and while she was better trained now, Melody was still worried about the mate bond because Phasmi had told her that Derek wanted it back to full strength.

It wasn't that he and Charlotte weren't already and still mates, but the mating scent had dissipated over time since they had been away from each other. Derek wanted to have it back, but Charlotte was wary and so was Melody because she needed to sit them down and have the mate talk, having gone through all of this herself. Now, though, she had Phasmi and she was dealing with Phasmi and what it was that she needed. This was all trying on everyone with an Alpha out there and Melody wasn't even an Alpha and as skilled as she was and stronger than the other Betas, Charlotte was their brawn right now.

"So you have a new boyfriend?" Melody asked Phasmi as she draped her arm over her daughter's shoulder. "He seems nice."

Phasmi blushed and nodded. "Yeah, I just…I don't want to bring him into all of this, but I want him to know. I want to tell him what I am, but not until the Alpha is taken care of."

"What is your sister's plan there anyway?" Melody asked her slowly.

"Well…she knows who it is…" Phasmi told her as she shifted uncomfortably, "…she just won't tell anyone—I guess we'll find out."

xx

Derek couldn't believe what it was that he was hearing here. Peter. Peter Hale, his uncle, was the Alpha and Charlotte knew and had known since the full moon and she hadn't even come to him to tell him anything about it. That hurt him more than anything else.

"I'm sorry…what?!" he asked her quickly.

Charlotte took a step back as Stiles looked at them awkwardly. "I didn't know how to tell you and I needed to take a step back and look at things objectively. I had to have the pack ready."

"HE'S MY UNCLE!" Derek thundered, making Charlotte clap her hand over his mouth.

"We are in _my_ uncle's house and in case you forgot, he's the Sheriff," Charlotte told him even though she knew that Sheriff Stilinski was probably too busy to hear. "We will talk about this later."

"No, no Charlee, we will talk about this _now_ ," Derek told her as he pushed her hand away. "My uncle cannot be the Alpha."

Charlotte took a deep breath. "Killing Laura, even if it happens to have been an accident…would have made him the Alpha, which would have helped him to heal. You get that, don't you?"

"Laura was his niece!" Derek tried as he took a deep breath.

"Would I ever lie to you?" Charlotte asked him slowly.

Derek opened up his mouth to argue with her, but he realized that he couldn't because Charlotte had always been the constant in his life. Regardless of this moment right here, she had _never_ lied to him—other than to tell him that she didn't love him, but that was a completely different issue entirely. She was afraid of him and the way that he made her feel and Derek heaved a heavy sigh before he pressed his lips to hers, ignoring Stiles' groan of protest. As happy as he was that his cousin was happy, it unnerved him still that Derek Hale was her choice of a mate…he _still_ didn't understand.

"You and I will check it out," Derek said as he pulled back, still cupping Charlotte's face.

Charlotte bit her lip and shook her head. "I don't want anything bad to happen to you, Derek. If Peter is actually off the deep end then I need to do this on my own—I can take him."

"I'm not letting you face my uncle on your own and Stiles can tell the pack," Derek said, motioning to Stiles to acknowledge that he at least knew that he was there.

"I can…I can tell the pack," Stiles admitted nodding. "I can do that."

Charlotte looked at him and nodded. "Alright, just…okay. They're at my place—Phasmi took them there so that when I got back we could help them with their homework and then do some training."

"You really are a Momma Wolf," Stiles teased, but he was smiling.

Honestly, he couldn't think of a better pack leader than Charlotte even though it made him wonder what it was that had happened with her other pack. Something big had gone down and she had had to pick up and move on and Derek had been involved and Stiles realized that there was more here to the story and he _really_ wanted to know. So, he cleared his throat as he grabbed his jacket and he looked at Charlotte as she moved away from Derek and looked at Stiles too.

"Your pack is your family, right?" Stiles asked Charlotte.

Charlotte smiled and nodded. "Yeah, you know that. They're like my little wolves."

"Then what happened to your other pack?" Stiles asked abruptly.

"Derek!" Charlotte managed because before they knew it, he had grabbed Stiles by the collar of his jacket and thrown him up against the wall, pinning him there. "Hey!"

Derek was touchy about the subject as well, not wanting to talk about it because it had been one of the events in his life that he regretted the most: leaving Charlotte. The top regret was letting Kate in close enough to kill everyone he loved most, but then it was directly followed by giving up on the one person in his life that had always been constant and true. He owed Charlotte so much and even in coming back and making her feel so bad, she had given into her need to protect him and be beside him, and she always trusted him. Charlotte didn't always agree with his methods—like now, getting violent with Stiles—but she was never going to walk away from him.

She was his _family_.

"Stiles, I will explain later, alright? In more detail than I gave the pack. In fact, you can ask Phasmi if you want…she knows the whole story," Charlotte said as she pried Derek off of Stiles. "Just…let me deal with the Alpha and then I will tell you."

Stiles nodded and moved toward the door. "Please tell me if you need me."

"I'll let you know," Charlotte told him.

"No you won't," Stiles said as he sighed, smiling sadly at his cousin. "You would die for any of us if you had to just to keep us out of harm's way. Protect my cousin, Derek…or I swear to God I will make you pay for it."

"I won't let anything happen to Charlotte," Derek promised, looking at Charlotte, nodding as he made eye contact with her, "not ever."

xx

Caroline and Eric were busy hanging out doing their homework as Phasmi helped them, all of them hanging out in the living room. When Stiles came over and Phasmi opened the door up for him, she led him into the living room, where Eric had started to tickle Caroline, who was giggling as they played on the couch, Stiles feeling himself get angry again. Even though Caroline had been pushing him away, it wasn't what he wanted and he knew that at some point they were going to get back together…he just knew it. It was something that he had to hold on to, especially seeing that a guy like Derek Hale could get someone like his cousin.

"Charlotte is going after the Alpha," Stiles said, trying to interrupt the tickle fest.

His entering the room had done that all on its own—Caroline hated seeing Stiles so down when she loved him, she was just so afraid of hurting him. She didn't want to lose control and destroy him, but at the same time she missed him and everyone in the room could feel the tension that was happening. Still, right now it was all about Charlotte and the Alpha and Stiles wanted to feel like he was doing something productive. His cousins meant the world to him and Charlotte was running off into danger like she always did, thinking she was protecting everyone.

"Then we should be there," Caroline said nodding, taking a deep breath. "She can't go up against the Alpha by herself."

Stiles looked at her. "Charlotte is the only one equipped to handle this—let's not get ourselves killed. Derek is with her, I'm just the messenger."

"We can't let her get killed," Eric said standing up.

"Do you know who the Alpha is?" Phasmi asked Stiles slowly. "I assume you didn't come all this way for that—and don't you have your first Lacrosse game tonight?"

"Yeah, you're first string," Caroline reminded him. "You don't have to be a part of this, you just have to tell us where she and Derek went…"

Stiles didn't want Caroline to be in any danger, trying to explain to them that Charlotte would call if she needed them, but Phasmi had that look in her eyes as Derek and Charlotte made it to the hospital. They took a deep breath and Charlotte flexed her fingers, stopping Derek when he moved to barge in They were taking a step here and when they went in, everything seemed pretty deserted, Peter showing himself, a smirk on his face. They had both wounded each other and it was only a matter of time before she came to him and made him pay for all of it…right?

"Took you long enough, Charlotte," Peter told her, Derek standing there speechless.

Charlotte let her nails grow, her eyes glowing red. "The moment I bit you, I knew that it was you. You and I are stuck in this place where it's possible I might have to rip you apart."

"Alpha against Alpha?" Peter asked, chuckling a little bit. "What have you two been up to anyway?"

"You killed Laura," Derek said angrily, his nails growing as he clenched his fists.

"I can smell you on each other—there's even a mating scent," Peter told them as he cocked his head to one side. "How old are you two? 12?"

Charlotte made a face at him and then moved to stop Derek from going for him, growling at Peter as he chuckled to himself. He had them where he wanted them and when the nurse came out of nowhere to go for Derek, Charlotte couldn't do anything but protect him, lunging at her and tearing into her with her claws. The intent was to kill and Charlotte wasn't about to let Derek get killed by any means—she would give her life to protect him and he knew that, watching as her attack killed her, Peter seeming pretty happy with himself, blood once again on Charlotte's hands.

_"This doesn't get any easier," Charlotte told Derek, tears in her eyes as she hugged her knees to her in the tub._

_She'd been trying to get her act together since becoming an Alpha and she hated giving into her bloodlust because bad things happened…sometimes people ended up dead. Any Hunter would kill her if they knew, for she had spilled human blood and she knew that she'd do it again more than likely, which didn't help her. Charlotte was a Momma Bear at heart and though that meant getting violent to protect her 'young', it didn't help her mental state any. She didn't like to kill to kill and Derek had gotten into the tub with her when her shower had become a bath, knowing she was distraught about the last full moon and her kill._

_"You were protecting us," Derek tried to reassure her, resting his forehead against hers. "You aren't some dangerous, insane, rabid animal. You're the Alpha. We're the pack. That hunter would have killed Darren, but **you** saved him. **You**. You're our protector."_

_Charlotte looked him in the eye. "I don't want to become a monster, but I couldn't…I have to make better choices. The hunters will come after us now. I endangered the pack."_

_"You **saved** the pack," Derek explained as he kissed her gently. "We can handle this and you know it."_

_"Not if Liam tries to challenge you again and Darren sides with him," Charlotte told him honestly. "The pack makes the individual stronger, but what if they leave? What if I have to kick them out? I can't, Derek. I can't let you get hurt."_

_"Baby, I know you would never let anything happen to me,"_

Peter had been expecting this, however, knowing from experience that Charlotte had always protected Derek, no matter what it was from. They were childhood friends and their families knew all about their first kiss at ten that might lead to something more than that—and now it had. Now they had that mating scent on them and it was about time that Peter exploited that because he knew that he could. He knew that he could because it was obvious now that threatening Derek wasn't going to get him anywhere good with her and Laura had been her best friend.

The two wolves had done almost everything together, Charlotte realizing she had a thing for her best friend's little brother, and not wanting to do anything about it. Still, she'd initiated that kiss and both families thought they'd get older, fall in love and get married and have puppies together, but instead the tragedy befell the Hales and the Gracelands encountered their own problems. At the same time, when Charlotte's parents had found out about them and Peter had smelled them on each other in the hospital, it seemed like that was how it was always supposed to be.

"Does it occur to you that it was unintentional?" Peter asked as Derek lunged at him.

Charlotte couldn't stop as she looked at the blood on her hands, perking her ears up when Peter grabbed Derek and threw him across the hallway, Derek hitting a wall and hard. His body crumpled and Charlotte growled, moving for Peter, fear flashing across his eyes for a moment as he knew that Charlotte was currently stronger than him, regardless of his years on her as a wolf. She had a full pack and she was an Alpha and she was currently fueled with rage at him for hurting her mate. Still, Peter continued to talk as Charlotte slammed him into a wall and growled in his face.

"I was healing and I had little to no control over the wolf," Peter explained as Charlotte went into punch him, pulling back a moment as she realized his heart rate wasn't rising.

It was easy to tell when someone was lying just by listening to the heartbeat, but at the same time it was kind of hard now because Peter seemed to be…telling the truth. Sure, this couldn't be the whole story and she knew that being an Alpha accelerated his healing and that meant that he was now up and strong and he just wanted to make a pack. But why? Was this planned or was this not? She was kind of trying harder than ever right now to figure out whether or not she could really listen to a word that was coming out of his mouth.

"Laura was an unfortunate accident," Peter continued and punched Derek hard in the face when Derek went at him for going after Charlotte, Charlotte punching Peter in the face. "You have to at least believe me, Derek…after all, we're family."

Charlotte frowned as Derek told her to wait when she went to punch him. "Derek…Derek, he killed Laura. Just because it doesn't seem like he's lying—"

"—why would he kill her on purpose?" Derek asked her.

"To be the Alpha!" Charlotte exclaimed, gripping Peter by the throat.

"STOP!" Derek commanded, and Charlotte let him go. "He's my uncle…"

Charlotte took a deep breath and looked Peter in the eye. "Fine, but we do things my way or I swear to God, Peter, I will end you."

"Noted," Peter said before looking at Derek. "Welcome to my pack."


	18. Conflicting Packs

To say that Charlotte was upset about the recent turn events was an understatement.

Derek was trying to make it up to her because he knew that she was upset, but at the same time he had his uncle back and without the scar covering half of his face and he was kind of happy. Charlotte was still his mate even though she was being distant, and he had a feeling that hers and Peter's rivalry was just because of the fact that they were technically rivaling Alphas. Still, he also knew what Laura meant to Charlotte and how protective she was and she wasn't blinded by Peter being family—Peter _wasn't_ her family right now even though she wanted him to be.

There was a time that the Hales and the Gracelands were very close because they were all werewolves, and Charlotte had thought of the Hales as her family and vice versa. In fact sometimes Derek felt as though Phasmi was his sister and Phasmi and Charlotte's parents his other parents…but Charlotte had never been like his sister. Something had always been between the two wolves, but neither of them acted on anything because regardless of the pull between them, they'd always kind if butted head because they were stubborn. Laura was the one to really treat Charlotte like her sister and the first to see that the two were into each other.

Peter had also known.

Now, it was possible that Peter had done something to make this all an advantage to him and yet Derek didn't _want_ to think the worst of him. It wasn't that Charlotte wanted to, it was just that she was determined to protect Derek and if there was a possibility that Peter would hurt him, Charlotte wanted to be around to potentially put him down. Her and Peter kind of being at each other's throats verbally, however, had Derek kind of staying out of it. He didn't want to be in the middle of a fight between two Alphas and yet he was also getting a little fed up with them.

Peter was trying to get Scott to be part of his pack and wanted Charlotte to help him, but Charlotte didn't want to play into his hands at all, no matter what was going on. Scott hadn't wanted the bite and then Peter had attacked Caroline, who then almost died and Charlotte hadn't had a choice but to turn her, and Charlotte was feeling like the two McCall's were feeling trapped and with good reason: they were. The worst part though, was that Scott hadn't even met Peter yet and Peter wanted Charlotte to make all of this happen for him out of the kindness of her heart…she didn't want to.

_"So what do **you** think of the Alpha?" Caroline asked Charlotte cautiously._

_Charlotte took a deep breath. "I think I'm cautious because I don't know right now, Care. I mean it's Peter but...but something isn't adding up."_

_She knew Peter and she knew that while cocky, he had always been that fun uncle and she and Derek had always enjoyed his company and the gifts he sometimes gave them. Charlotte had always felt bad that the fire had hit him so hard and he'd been so damaged, and had even visited him as much as possible with Derek before her parents had moved her and Phasmi away. Now he was the Alpha that the hunters were looking for and the reason that all of this had really gotten out of control and Charlotte was being cautious with her pack._

_"Then we don't trust him and we keep him away from my brother," Caroline said nodding. "I don't care if Derek's uncle turned him or not—Scott doesn't go near him if he's dangerous."_

_Charlotte reached out to stroke Caroline's dark hair. "I'm not going to let anything happen to your brother, Care. As far as I am concerned, he's as much a part of this pack as he is your family. He's part of **this** family. In fact if he ever wants to join this pack, then so be it."_

_"Or even Derek's if that happens," Phasmi mused out loud, reading a magazine._

_"I still don't understand why Derek doesn't want to be part of this one," Eric said as he popped open a soda and looked at his math homework. "I mean, wouldn't we be stronger with Derek and Scott with us?"_

_Charlotte nodded before shrugging. "Derek wants to be more than an Alpha's mate and I'm not going to force him to be part of this…he and I have gone through enough pack fiascos."_

_No one really asked her for any details because they had the main story and that was all that they needed: Charlotte had been abandoned because of jealousy. She had been the only female in an all male pack and one of the pack members wanted to overturn Derek and when he lost, turned the other against them and Derek had had enough. It made sense to them because Charlotte and Derek had been young and now it wasn't like that anymore: Charlotte was their more mature Alpha wolf and what she said went._

"You and I have this agreement, Peter, remember?" Charlotte asked him as she sighed loudly. "I'm not helping you to make a pack—I'm not helping you to make Scott part of your pack when he doesn't want it."

Peter rolled his eyes. "I'm his Alpha...he doesn't have a choice."

"Everyone has a choice," Charlotte cut in as she glanced at Derek. "Doesn't mean they'll make the right one…"

She hadn't entirely meant to throw that at Derek like that, but she also wasn't really thinking too hard because she was so frustrated with how everything was happening. Derek and Peter were acting like they knew something that she didn't and she didn't like being out of the loop—especially when she had a pack to protect. Still, when she was worked up like this she got snippy and Derek understood and was just staying out of it. If Peter and Charlotte wanted to fight, they could do it on their own because the moment Derek got involved he would have to pick sides and he couldn't choose between his lover and his uncle when he thought of them _both_ as his family and his pack.

"Ah, ah, ah," Peter said as Derek avoided eye contact with Charlotte, "getting to Derek's heart means not saying such things about a family member or a choice regarding said family member that you're passive aggressively talking about."

"Oh, was that passive aggressive?" Charlotte asked as she sipped her coffee from her coffee cup. "I meant that to be fully aggressive."

Peter smiled at her. "Good, I'm glad—it's good to know that there is an Alpha out here that can take on whatever hardships she has to."

"Once again you're acting like I'm out of the loop," Charlotte told him shaking her head, "and you know what we need to do? _Not_ keep secrets from each other."

Derek nodded at that. "Charlotte's right…"

Peter laughed and shrugged. "Just like a mate to agree with his Alpha."

Charlotte gave him a look but Peter quickly changed the subject and told Charlotte that they were headed to the school, which made Charlotte upset. She didn't want to go and scare Scott, but Peter wanted to talk to his Beta and if she could mediate then so be it, she would mediate. Besides, Scott was more likely to hear them out if she was there to cushion the blow and so they headed to the locker room after the game and Scott seemed glad to see them because things were crazy until Peter came out of the shadows and Scott understood: Peter was the Alpha… _his_ Alpha.

"I really don't get lacrosse," Peter said as he looked at the equipment before looking at Scott. "When I was in High School we played basketball—there's a _real_ sport."

Charlotte sighed loudly. "Peter…we're not here so you can give some lecture about sports."

"I don't know why you're here when this isn't even about _your_ pack," Peter responded shrugging and then looking back at Scott. "I'm here because I need to finish what I started and I need you to help me."

"I'm not helping you kill people," Scott said firmly.

"I don't want to kill everyone, just the responsible ones. That doesn't have to include…" Peter trailed off and looked to Derek for the name he was looking for.

"Allison," Derek spoke up, Scott and Charlotte looking at him, but he avoided eye contact with Charlotte.

She was just as upset as Scott was and yet Derek didn't care if Scott was upset…he _did_ care if Charlotte was. Charlotte being upset meant that she was emotionally compromised and all he wanted was for her to feel happy and feel as though everyone was safe and right now he just wanted to belong and he had his uncle back and Scott would be part of the pack and they just needed one more. Besides, getting revenge for his family sounded pretty good and Charlotte wanted the same so why was she acting like this right now?

"Are you forgetting the part where he killed your sister?!" Scott asked Derek, not understanding how this was happening when he would have _never_ sided with someone that hurt Caroline… _ever_.

Derek and Peter shared a look. "It was a mistake."

"What?!" Scott asked Derek incredulously.

"It happens," Derek said firmly.

"Scott," Peter spoke up, Scott turning to look at him as Charlotte crossed her arms, "I think you're getting the wrong impression. We're really here to help you to reach your full potential."

Scott looked him in the eye. "By killing my friends…"

"Sometimes the people closest to you," Peter said as Charlotte's eyes filled with pain, "can be the ones holding you back the most."

Charlotte had heard him say that exact phrase to Derek before and it rubbed her the wrong way, especially when Derek looked at her briefly. It was something that ran through his mind a lot and gave him conflicting thoughts about what it was that he wanted and what was acceptable. There were so many times when he wanted to just let it all out and be vulnerable and let Charlotte carry some of his burdens and he'd carry hers like it should be, but Derek had believed the same thing having it engrained in him and had even told Charlotte before that she was holding _him_ back…maybe that wasn't even true.

"If they're holding me back from becoming a psychotic nut job like you, I'm okay with that," Scott admitted to him.

Peter started toward Scott and he backed up a little as Derek held his ground and Charlotte moved toward them, stopping when Peter gave her a look. She was in a place where she wanted to protect Scott, but this also wasn't her pack and that meant that she had to let Peter have this control because he was the Alpha of this pack…this was how _he_ was choosing to run things and as an Alpha herself, she had to respect that. Still, it bothered her when Peter let his nails come out and grabbed Scott, digging his nails in to scratch him and share memories like Derek had accidentally done to Jackson back when Kate had shot him.

"You two can't just leave him here," Charlotte said as Peter walked away while Scott was assaulted with memories, Derek pausing but following his uncle. "If you keep walking, Derek…"

She didn't finish her sentence because she hoped she wouldn't have to, but Derek only paused long enough to try and make a decision before Peter said his name and he left. He had pledged himself to Peter and now he was Peter's Beta and it made Charlotte's heart sink, but she helped Scott when Scott recovered and then she went home to be with her mother, Derek with Peter at the Hale House. She was then filled in about how Jackson knew about Scott being a werewolf and wanting the bite and she felt like things were spiraling out of control.

"There's also a bit of teenage drama happening," Phasmi admitted as she sighed. "So I think that it's important that you take a little time out and go talk to Derek. If Peter is looking for a fourth pack member, then he'll be out tonight."

Charlotte nodded gently and sighed. "Derek will be on his own and his weakness for me might help me talk some sense into him?"

"Yes," Phasmi admitted laughing. "Besides, I think its best that _I_ deal with Eric kissing Caroline and how Stiles is going to handle this—it's a misunderstanding that's below you…I can fix it."

_Eric's crush on Caroline was pretty obvious, but Caroline only had eyes for Stiles even though Eric didn't really know that. As far as he knew, Caroline and Stiles had been together, but the scent on them was incredibly faint and Caroline had been saying they weren't together and it wasn't even a lie. So, he had decided to spend some time with her that day after school before Phasmi got there, smiling at her as the two laughed and joked. They were friends and she was always open with him and if that was an opening, then that was an opening._

_"You suck more at math than I do," Caroline said laughing, pushing on Eric's shoulder playfully._

_Eric rolled his eyes. "Please, I rock every subject harder than you."_

_"No you don't," Caroline told him rolling her eyes. "Chemistry? I am beating you at that."_

_"Maybe you are," Eric admitted, using this as a cheesy way in._

_He wasn't even aware of Stiles rounding the corner in the hallway just as he moved in to close the distance between him and Caroline. Eric's lips crushed into hers and Stiles felt his heart breaking in two as Caroline returned the kiss in her confusion, Stiles turning and leaving for the parking lot without seeing Caroline then push Eric off. Sure, she didn't mind being kissed, but her heart belonged to Stiles and Eric could tell by the look on her face that she hadn't wanted that and he wasn't sure what that feeling in the pit of his stomach was that was mixed with the slight hurt…relief? It **would** keep the pack less complicated and Caroline **wasn't** Lydia Martin…_

_"I'm sorry," Eric said quickly, running his fingers through his hair. "I read the signals wrong."_

_Caroline shook her head. "No, no, I've been flirting a little I just…Stiles…"_

_"I get it, I do—I really do," Eric told her, smiling a bit. "We can just pretend that didn't happen."_

_"I think that's best," Caroline agreed, not wanting Stiles to know about it. "Homework?"_

_"Yeah, we should get to Charlotte's," Eric told her as he headed for the parking lot._

_The problem was that Caroline was feeling guilty and when Phasmi picked them up, she wanted to go to Stiles' and Phasmi nodded, Eric agreeing. He didn't believe in secrets and had a feeling that sooner or later Stiles was going to want to talk to him about all of this, but right now he wanted to focus on the pack…Caroline couldn't do that. Sheriff Stilinski let her in to see Stiles, who didn't really want to see her and she took a deep breath before she just let it all out._

_"Not that it matters or changes anything…but Eric kissed me," Caroline told him._

_Stiles didn't even look at her, he just nodded. "Alright…"_

_"We're not together and it meant nothing," Caroline explained, nodding when Stiles nodded again. "Yeah…okay…good talk…"_

_At first she was a bit devastated that he didn't care, but then she noticed that his fists were clenched on the desk and it made her smile. Regardless of them not being a couple right now, Stiles wanted to punch Eric and that made Caroline feel like Stiles still cared and he did—he'd even caught that she had worded it as Eric had kissed her. It meant that she hadn't kissed him and she had come to tell him because she wanted Stiles to know she was available and that made him feel a little better. She still gave a shit about how he felt and what he thought and that meant there was hope for them yet._

_"I need to go," Caroline said as they stood in silence a moment longer._

_For once, Stiles had been looking for the right words to say, but Caroline had to get away from him._

While it kind of bothered her that there was drama like this happening inside of her pack, Charlotte felt a little bit like it was bound to happen: seemed her curse. Besides, it was a misunderstanding and Eric when probed had told her that he had just thought she liked him and she didn't and he was alright that so she felt like she could go and talk to Derek. Everyone wanted things to be cleared up since Peter was here and so Charlotte went on her way only to be disappointed. When she got to the Hale house, Jackson was there and it was obvious that Derek was going to kill him because he knew too much: obviously not the fourth member of the pack.

"NO!" Charlotte snarled at him, Jackson confused.

Jackson curled up against the staircase. "You're the student nurse—you too?!"

"Since when do we go around killing teenagers?!" Charlotte asked Derek, ignoring Jackson. "I mean last I knew, we only killed if we had to and we haven't _had_ to."

"He doesn't deserve the bite and he won't ever stop threatening us," Derek told her, glaring at her for being in between him and Jackson.

"I won't!" Jackson promised.

Charlotte looked at Jackson and then looked at Derek. "What happened to you? I mean…you are not the wolf that I fell for."

"I guess you have this under control then?" Scott asked.

He had found out what the plan for Jackson was and had come to try and save the day, everyone startled by the hunters showing up. Charlotte immediately went into half wolf mode, her mother mode on as well as she got Jackson toward the back door, Scott getting shot, blood coming out of his mouth, Derek going to save him. Scott and Jackson didn't need to be here where they could get hurt and once Derek got Scott out, Charlotte came for him to save him.

"Charlotte! YOU HAVE TO GO!" Derek growled, flashing his teeth and his blue eyes at her. "I can't lose you!"

Charlotte shook her head and went to cover his body with her own. "I won't leave you!"

"CHARLOTTE!"

"I WON'T LEAVE YOU!"

Derek was about to argue with her again when Kate came barging into the abandoned house and pointed her gun right at Charlotte's back. The werewolf was too busy protecting her mate to turn when she caught the hunter's scent, crying out when the shot hit her in the back and began to burn...laced with wolfsbane. Growling, Derek went for her only to be knocked out cold, Charlotte moving to go for Kate before she was shocked, tasting metallic before blacking out.


	19. Truths, Alphas and Torture, Oh My

Stiles wasn't sure exactly what it was that brought him here to the Graceland house, but he knew that he was on auto-pilot and it wasn't because he wanted to see his cousins this time. No, but he did smile at and hug his aunt, letting her rustle his hair before he made his way into the living room with the others. Ever since forming the pack, Charlotte had been looking into getting them a place so they could all, always have each other, but right now it was all of them spending time here and yet Stiles didn't let it deter him at all.

In fact, it gave him even more courage.

Had it just been him and Eric he probably would have thought a little more about this because he was outmatched in strength when it came to human vs. werewolf, but with Phasmi and Caroline here as well, Eric wasn't going to do anything. Actually, Eric wasn't going to do anything in the first place because he figured he deserved it and Stiles obviously love Caroline, so when Stiles threw in a punch, Eric made sure his face was in the way of Stiles' fist. Besides, it wouldn't really hurt all that much and Stiles needed to let out his anger.

Phasmi was the first one up as Caroline told Stiles to stop, a little bit turned on, however, that Stiles was doing this for her. He didn't want her to be with anyone other than him and she was happy about that, second guessing herself and this space when she was learning how to be in control with the help of Phasmi and Charlotte. The moment she trusted herself, she would make sure to go straight for Stiles…even though she was going straight for him now for an entirely different reason as Eric touched his jaw a moment.

"If this is some jealous rage," Caroline told him, sighing when he looked at her. "Stiles, we don't have time for that right now."

Stiles saw the slight smirk on her face and smiled. "We had enough time for one punch to the face."

"Awesome, but we're doing homework—she's all yours," Eric said as he went back to his work.

"She's not some possession!" Stiles tried to protest, feeling pretty good about himself.

"We don't have time for a completely different reason," Scott said as he barged into the room.

Phasmi crossed to him and looked him in the eye. "What happened and why do I smell blood?"

"The hunters took Derek and Charlotte," Scott explained quickly.

xx

Charlotte knew that when the hunters started shooting up what remained of the Hale house that something bad was going to happen…but she never expected to be chained to a chair. On top of that, she wondered what her mother would say when she found out that the Argents had grabbed her just for being with Derek and then there was another thing: her eyes. The moment this torture that was undoubtedly going to happen, began, it was only a matter of time before they found out that she was an Alpha and pinned all of this on her.

She was a dead woman.

For a moment as she was roused to consciousness, she tried to take in her surroundings so that she could figure out where she was, but wherever she was, was dark, wet, and underground somehow…seemed that way, at least. She glanced up and looked at Derek, hanging by his wrists with electrical wires stuck to him so he could be electrocuted and upon further inspection of herself, she was set up to be electrocuted as well. She struggled against the restraints, hoping to be stronger than them, Kate sending a jolt her way that was painful. When she let out a strangled cry, Derek seemed to come out of his unconscious state and growled at her.

Kate was testing a theory, having now found them together for a second time and she wondered if he'd taken this so far as to have a mate. If they were more than just pack mates then seeing the other get tortured would make them sing like canaries and that was really all that Kate wanted—other than getting Allison involved in this family hunting thing. In fact she'd texted the teenager and was really hopeful that she would get to show off her two trophies to her and also find out about the Alpha and the other Beta…because she knew there was another one out there.

"STOP!" Derek roared as Kate turned up the voltage on Charlotte, struggling against the restraints, all wolfed out as Charlotte squeezed her eyes shut and screamed. "STOOOOOOOOOP!"

Charlotte shook her head. "WHAT DO YOU WANT?!"

"I want a lot of things," Kate said laughing, looking at Derek and Charlotte and wondering a moment about her closed eyes. "How far have you two taken this?"

"We're not telling you a thing," Charlotte said as she tried to calm herself down and take a breath, Kate having stopped the shocking for now. "You just attacked out of nowhere."

"Because it's time to find out about the other Beta," Kate said nonchalantly, flipping the switch and torturing Derek this time, who went back and forth between looking human and looking like a werewolf, crying out.

Charlotte's eyes flew open and she screamed at Kate to stop, Kate laughing at their pain and nodding because this was what she had wanted to know: how much they cared about each other. The looks in their eyes when they saw the other person in pain made her pause, shaking her head at Charlotte as Charlotte's claws grew and she growled, keeping her eyes at bay. By now Kate knew she'd been born a werewolf—knew her and her mother, father and sister—but she couldn't show Kate that her eyes were red…Alpha red. That would create more problems than they currently had.

"You're mates, aren't you?" Kate asked, shaking her head in disbelief. "Wow…so after me you finally got what you'd always wanted, didn't you Derek? And then some…"

Derek growled at her. "It was always her."

"Don't provoke HER!" Charlotte tried, screaming out the last word when Kate turned on the voltage again, making her squeeze her eyes shut and scream.

"TURN IT OFF!" Derek snarled at Kate.

Kate beamed at him and let it go on a little bit longer as Charlotte went back and forth between forms too, turning it off as Derek thrashed violently, trying to get to Charlotte. She smiled at them and then she pulled out her phone, Allison here, so she left them to go and bring her in. Charlotte tried to take deep breaths, smelling burning flesh and feeling a little weak even though she had a feeling that if pushed any farther, she and Derek could rely on adrenaline strength to get out of this. When she did, she was going to rip Kate a new one.

"Charlotte, can you get free?" Derek asked her, helpless at the moment to get to his mate.

Charlotte glanced at him. "Only if I go full Alpha…I don't want her to know."

"Better that than you getting hurt anymore," Derek said shaking his head. "Do it."

"I can take a little more,"

"YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE TO!"

He'd wolfed out before he said it, Allison slowly coming into the room and seeing them there, Derek roaring at her and just like that, Charlotte knew more than ever that things were getting deep.

xx

Melody had a strong hunch that Chris Argent wasn't behind the kidnapping of her daughter.

Even if he had somehow found out that Charlotte was an Alpha, he would have come to her first just out of courtesy of them having been friends before. It had been no secret to anyone but her the feelings he'd had for her all those years ago, but she'd chosen Charlotte's father and become a werewolf and everything had then fallen apart. He'd been bred to be a hunter and she had become something that he hunted and she'd had to leave after the fire that was set to the Hale house…she was too afraid for her children.

"This is a pleasant surprise," Chris told her when he opened up the door, trying to look neighborly to anyone on the street that might be watching.

Melody put on her best fake smile. "You should tell me where your sister is."

"Why do you want Kate?" Chris asked, his smile faltering.

"Because as I'm pretty sure you didn't go shooting up the Hale house tonight, she did," Melody explained, laying it all out there. "I know you're onto Charlotte, lets not pretend Chris, I just want to know where my daughter is or you're going to have a completely different problem on your hands."

Chris Argent knew a threat when he heard one and let Melody in, getting her some coffee and hearing her out when she spoke to him. He'd never really thought that Kate would just go after Charlotte, but it was obvious that there was something else going on here and she was involved with Derek Hale so she could be a potential threat. At the same time, he hadn't threatened Derek because he really thought Derek was killing people—he was trying to keep the Beacon Hills werewolf population in line.

"What is Charlotte's real relationship with Derek Hale?" Chris asked Melody after telling her that he honestly didn't know where Kate was right that second.

Melody took a deep breath. "They're not in a pack together, if that's what you're asking."

"That's not what I'm asking at all," Chris admitted shaking his head. "Is she like you? With some childish werewolf?"

"Wolves tend to mate with other wolves," Melody answered as she sighed loudly. "Against mine and Matthew's wishes and better judgment, Derek Hale and Charlotte Graceland became mates. Even if Charlotte wanted to stay away from him—"

"—it would be close to impossible," Chris finished for her.

He knew more than he let on about such practices, being a skilled hunter and all, which meant that he knew about his prey. In fact, Chris had seen mate bonds in action before and if this was honestly true—he had no reason _not to believe Melody—then no matter what Derek or Charlotte did, the bond would break down their anger or sadness at some point and bring them back together. If Laura Hale hadn't come back to Beacon Hills and Derek hadn't followed her, at some point, either or Derek or Charlotte would have gone looking for each other._

_It was hard for a mates to spend time away from each other, especially when even though werewolves were human in look, they were animals. They left scents on each other and they had blood lust and animal instincts and animal strengths and now Melody was looking for her daughter. If Charlotte and Derek weren't who they were looking for, then Kate had them and yet Chris knew nothing about the Hale house and so he wasn't all that worried. Kate would find out and let them know because they lived by a code._

_"I'm sure that they'll turn up," Chris told Melody with a smile._

_Melody gave him a look. "If they don't, your sister is on my list, Chris."_

__

xx

"STOP!" Charlotte screamed at Kate as she turned on the electricity and shocked Derek, Derek crying out in pain even though he was trying to hold it in.

Allison looked panicked. "What are you doing to him? Is it going to kill him? What is he?"

"Shapeshifter, Lychan, werewolf…whatever you want to call him. TO me he's just another dumb animal," Kate said laughing, looking at Charlotte. "Her too, but she's more powerful—resisting more."

"I'm certainly more powerful than you," Charlotte bit at Kate, crying out as Kate flipped the switch on her and then moved toward Derek.

Kate moving toward Derek made Charlotte open her eyes a moment, Allison catching the red but not Kate. Charlotte closed them again as Kate looked at Allison, Derek feeling weak and drifting toward passing out again as Kate grabbed his face and Allison stopped the voltage. She felt bad for them even though she was terrified and unsure of what to do, and Charlotte was feeling weak herself, and grossed out having Kate touch Derek again—Kate wasn't allowed to touch Derek ever again.

"Come here, Kiddo," Kate said as she went up to him. "See these? These are their canines—also known as fangs. Known for the tearing and rending of flesh. Not something you find on those cute little herbivores."

Allison looked a bit appalled. "Is this a joke to you?"

"Honey, there are werewolves running around in the world—everything is a joke to me," Kate said shrugging at her. "How else do you think I stay sane?"

"So, it was them at the High School and the other animal attacks?" Allison asked Kate slowly.

"There's actually at least six of them, but only really three we should be worried about, one of them being the Alpha," Kate explained to Allison. "Alpha is the pack leader—bigger, stronger, nastier…those are the _real_ ugly ones."

Allison paused because she had a feeling that maybe Charlotte was the Alpha. She was stronger than Derek and those red eyes…but she didn't want to tell Kate that. What she wanted to do was get as far away from this as possible even though Kate wanted her to help to catch the other Beta they were looking for to complete the pack and anger the Alpha. Kate had no idea that she was so wrong about all of it, but she thought she knew what was going on and she wanted Allison to be aware of it all and trained to handle herself.

"This is bad," Charlotte muttered to herself, looking over at the unconscious Derek. "I will fix this…"

xx

"So, what are we going to do?" Scott asked Phasmi, Eric and Caroline.

Phasmi laughed a little bit. "Find our Alpha and her mate."

"The priority is Charlotte," Stiles cut in shrugging.

"They're together, and we're not letting Derek die," Phasmi told her cousin as she hit him upside the head.

"Can we think about letting him die? For me? He was going to kill Jackson," Stiles said as he looked his cousin in the eye.

Caroline made a face. "I don't think he ever intended to _actually_ kill him."

"I think he might have and we hate Peter, remember?" Stiles tried again.

"Charlotte doesn't and for that matter, neither do I." Phasmi said as she tried to get her sister's cell phone's GPS turned on. "Once we get Charlotte _and_ Derek free, we will deal with Peter and this vendetta of his, alright? No better person to keep Peter in line than Charlotte, but she…she had to be with her mate."

"This bond of theirs is more trouble than it's worth," Stiles told them sighing loudly.

Caroline was a little hurt by the statement, but she didn't really like to be a slave to her feelings or emotions either…good thing she'd never have to be. The mating thing was different with humans and she knew Stiles didn't want to be a werewolf, so instead she just took a deep breath and decided to focus with the pack. Their Alpha was in trouble and they needed to find her and Phasmi was pretty smart—the first thing she had done was try to activate the GPS on the cell phone because she knew the Argents were crafty. _Especially_ if this was Kate's doing because she was the Argent _not_ to be trusted.

"As long as we find them before Peter tries to take our mother out on another date and make her part of his pack," Caroline said as she grabbed her jacket. "Lydia's been texting nonstop too about the dance."

Eric laughed a little bit. "Do you even think that we have time for that?"

"If we find Charlotte in time," Phasmi laughed. "Besides, I have a date to that, so let's get this done."

"Isaac?" Caroline asked, giggling when Phasmi blushed and nodded. "You are naughty."

"Yeah, he's jail bait," Stiles put in, laughing a little bit even though he wanted to go with Caroline to the dance. "With Jackson breaking up with Lydia, I bet she needs a date…"

Eric saw Caroline's eyes and smiled. "I'm taking her."

xx

"Come on, Derek, he killed your sister—he killed your best friend, Charlotte," Kate told them as she went through Derek's wallet and then Charlotte's. "So either you want to kill him yourself, or for some reason you're protecting him."

Charlotte laughed a little bit. "You think you have it all figured out, don't you?"

"You care to enlighten me otherwise?" Kate asked her, coming over to her. "Because it's possible that I was right all along and _you're_ the Alpha."

"I guess we could always find out," Charlotte taunted her.

Derek looked at Kate to change the subject. "Are you going to torture us, or are we going to stand around talking all day?"

"Oh, Sweetie," Kate said condescendingly, "I don't want to torture you…I want to catch up." She giggled and looked away from them. "Remember all the fun we used to have together?"

"Like the time you burned my family alive?" Derek asked her angrily.

"No," Kate said walking up to him and his half naked, shackled body, "I was thinking more about the hot, crazy sex we used to have."

Charlotte made a gagging sound. "Ew,"

She knew it was just showing now more than ever that she was jealous, but more than that she was actually disgusted just thinking about it and Derek didn't seem too keen on remembering it. He kept eye contact with Kate because she was baiting him, not looking at Charlotte for fear of a retaliation that would really hurt her and seeing her in pain made Derek want to tell Kate _everything_.

"I've had hotter, crazier sex," Derek told her.

Kate laughed and shrugged. "The fire part was fun too."

That made Derek move against the restraints and growl, Charlotte a little flattered that Derek considered their sex better—that was what he had meant. Kate had been a mistake, but Charlotte had been a conscious choice he would make again in a heartbeat…even that knowledge made Charlotte close her eyes as Kate licked Derek's abs and Derek let his canines extend, trying to bite her and not in a pleased way. He was angry. As far as he was concerned, only Charlotte was allowed to touch him in a sexual way and that was all there was to it.

"This is fun, but…I don't want to torture you anymore," Kate said as the doors opened and a man came in flexing his fingers. "He does…"

xx

Eric and Caroline were less than enthused about Scott's plan this evening with the dance. He couldn't keep an eye on Allison since Peter was trying to get to her, so he had forced Jackson to take her even though Jackson didn't want to be at risk. Then, he had Stiles go with Lydia to keep an eye on her and here Eric and Caroline were, trying to find Charlotte and Derek with Phasmi. There'd been some interference with the signal and Phasmi knew the teens were getting restless, but they had to spend these next hours tracking Charlotte and Derek down.

It didn't help that she'd had to cancel on Isaac…or that she was going to cancel but he did first, which made her pretty positive he was bruised. He didn't want to go anywhere with her and look like a mess even though she didn't care how he looked, she just wanted to spend time with him. The whole car was cranky and Caroline was trying to get a play by play from Scott, even texting her mother false dance reports because instead of decked out in a dress having a good time, she was hunting…for her Alpha. Sometimes being a werewolf had its disadvantages.

"The signal's going out again," Caroline said with a heavy sigh, all of them having been at this for a while now.

Phasmi swallowed and focused a little on picking up Charlotte's scent. "Well, we either find them alive now, or we find their dead bodies later—let's pick it up."

"Unfortunately, if you two don't talk, I'm going to have to kill you, so…say 'hi' to Laura for me," Kate said before she paused. "You did tell her about me, didn't you?"

Charlotte scoffed at that. "Why would he tell anyone about you?"

" _You_ obviously know," Kate told her, looking at her. "But then again, wolves don't hide anything from their mates, do they? It's not your fault though, Derek—you got tricked by a pretty face, it happens. Handsome young werewolf mistakenly falls in love with a smoking hot girl who just happens to come from a family that kills said werewolves. Is that ironic?"

"I think that 'smoking hot' is really stretching it," Charlotte said laughing. "More like he was desperate and I wasn't there. I am, after all, the one he really wanted all this time you even said so yourself."

Kate didn't seem too happy with that and decided to prove her point for once and for all, flipping the switch and letting electricity course through Derek's body. Charlotte let out a growl and a cry, her eyes going crimson when Kate wouldn't shut the switch off and the smell of some singed flesh reached Charlotte's nostrils—her mate was in pain. Derek was too busy screaming with his eyes screwed shut to see Charlotte lose it, but Kate wasn't and something else made sense: now she knew.

She knew that Scott was the Beta and she had to tell Chris about Charlotte being an Alpha, flipping the switch off and Derek shaking his head. Kate left the place as Phasmi caught a lock on the signal on the phone and then they got a call: turned out that Peter bit Lydia and took Stiles somewhere, Caroline freaking out. They'd been at this for too long and now they had a clear shot, Scott texting his sister to tell her that Allison knew about him…that meant that the Argents did too.

"So, you're telling me that not only does Kate probably know by now that Charlotte is an Alpha so she's probably dead, but Chris knows about Scott? Fuck this night," Phasmi said, snarling a bit.

Eric and Caroline still weren't entirely used to how Phasmi snapped sometimes, but they followed her into the compound, walking in on a sight they weren't expecting. Charlotte had mentioned that she wasn't feeling so hot and Derek knew that with Kate knowing, she was going to come back and _kill_ Charlotte, so he used the strength he had left and he broke the shackles holding him there, going to Charlotte as the three Betas came to them. Derek was to Charlotte in a heartbeat, cupping her face and looking her over, both of them sweaty and in pain, but he picked her up bridal style and then looked at the others.

"We'll fill you in as we go," Phasmi explained, "and you're under your own house…"

Derek huffed and nodded. "It actually kind of figures…"

"We need to regroup," Charlotte said, almost getting down, but Derek wouldn't let her go, making her smile a little bit. "So…"

She trailed off so that Eric, Phasmi and Caroline could fill her in, them telling her what was going on when Scott showed up with more information: Peter and his nurse had lured Laura in on purpose. The news and the proof upset Derek and Charlotte so much that Charlotte was aware of the outcome that would come next…Derek was going to kill Peter. That was all fine and dandy, but what none of them was expecting, was Kate and Allison to show after they got Derek and Charlotte a change of clothes in the Hale house, Scott not even asking why Charlotte had clothes there—that seemed obvious.

However, Allison trying to kill them was new…except it was just Kate.

"Everything I did, I did to—" Scott tried to tell Allison.

Allison cut him off, "—to protect me," she nodded as Scott did. "I don't believe you…"

"Good, then shoot him already before I shoot myself," Kate said walking up, Charlotte ready to strike.

"You said we were just going to capture them," Allison told her, her face sad.

"We did that and now we're going to kill them," Kate said shooting Derek in the chest. "See? It's not that hard, now is it?"

Kate pointed at Scott and pushed Allison away when Allison tried to stop her, this whole thing luring in Peter and Chris and even Melody, meaning a showdown was about to happen and Charlotte and her pack were about to be known to hunters. It was as bad as Charlotte thought that it might be, making her feel rather angry, but her claws came out and so did her Betas'. Melody told Chris that Charlotte wasn't the Alpha that they were looking for and had told Chris that Kate had burned down the house, Charlotte moving in on Kate.

You didn't hurt her mate like that and Peter wanted a piece of her too—he wouldn't get the satisfaction of that at all. Melody even had to let her claws and fangs grow so she could protect her daughter's pack, going after Peter when he tried to make an entrance and Charlotte chased Kate into the house. It seemed like a good place for her end, Charlotte growling at her and gripping her neck, Allison yelling and going after her. Allison asked Charlotte to stop, but Charlotte wasn't going to stop because this was something she'd been waiting for.

"You don't have the balls," Kate told her.

Charlotte grinned at her. "Wrong last words,"

With that, Charlotte let her teeth rip into Kate's throat, tearing and making sure she was dead, Peter coming in and growling. He was ready to attack because Charlotte had taken his thunder, and almost even went for Allison, but Derek and Scott showed, which made him distracted enough for Scott to tell Allison to run. Then, Charlotte went for Peter, Peter starting to wolf out himself, tossing her aside and knocking Derek out, going for Scott. Phasmi, Eric and Caroline were going to join in when Stiles showed up with Jackson and so they instead protect them while Allison shot Peter with an exploding arrow, making him burn yet again…seemed fitting.

His body fell to the ground and everyone looked on, Allison moving to Scott to kiss him and telling him she loved him as Charlotte went for Derek to check on him, Caroline taking Stiles' hand. Life seemed fleeting at the moment and everyone wanted to feel safe, Derek and Charlotte coming out of the house as Peter was dying, Derek going over to him and Charlotte knew what was going to happen. Either Scott killed him and was no longer a werewolf, but Derek wanted to be the Alpha and he was going to be the Alpha…so he slashed Peter's throat and then stood up, eyes flashing red.

"I'm the Alpha now," Derek told them.

Charlotte paused a moment. "You're an Alpha now… _an_."


	20. Managing Packs and Urges

**Smut Warning in this chapter**

"I feel really, _really_ good," Derek admitted as he flexed his fingers with a smile on his face.

Charlotte wasn't exactly sure how she was dealing with Derek being an Alpha now, but she knew that Derek was happy even if Scott and some of the others weren't. They'd 'framed' Kate by putting Allison's necklace around her neck and leaving her in the Hale house, putting Peter's body below the floorboards to rest with the others—it all seemed fitting. Kate took the fall for something that was pretty much her fault to begin with, and Peter got to lay to rest with the others taken in the fire. Still, the Argents weren't happy and a whole lot had gone down there.

_"I heard about your father making you break up with Scott," Charlotte told Allison as she sat on the roof, Allison coming to her bedroom window and resting her hands on it. "If you want helpful hints on how to get around that kind of sentence, I can help."_

_Allison swallowed. "Why would you care?"_

_"Nothing hurts more than being separated by people that you love…which is why I came to apologize, even though…" Charlotte sighed, glancing at the ground and then at Allison._

_"…even though you're not sorry you took revenge," Allison finished for her, nodding when Charlotte did. "Watching you kill her was devastating. I know you did it to avenge the Hales and what Kate did to them was pretty terrible, but…that kind of violence?"_

_"If it helps, and I know it doesn't, I only kill to protect my own. Just like your father only kills wolves who spill human blood, I only kill humans that deserve it," Charlotte explained shaking her head. "I shouldn't have killed her in front of you, but I'm not sorry she's dead."_

_Allison was torn because Kate had lied to her this whole time and had done some pretty unforgiveable things, but she had still been her aunt. Besides, she knew all about the good things that Charlotte had done and she'd helped Scott and protected him and it wasn't as though she didn't trust Charlotte—she was just **afraid** of her. Charlotte was incredibly powerful and now Derek was powerful too but she trusted Charlotte over Derek because Derek had this ruthlessness about him that seemed…well it seemed less pure._

_Charlotte was more or less a momma wolf protecting her young, whereas Derek was a hunter: at least that was how Allison saw him. The only person who really knew Derek through and through…who really knew his heart…was Charlotte Graceland and that wasn't ever going to change. She had more of him than he cared to admit and as soon as he had his pack created he was going to focus on his mate and see how this would work. An Alpha and an Alpha seemed like it would be hard, especially with their focus being on different packs, but Derek needed this—he needed to grow from this._

_"She killed your best friend, your second family, your boyfriend's family and she tortured you," Allison admitted nodding. "I don't expect you to be sorry she's gone."_

_Charlotte smiled sadly. "I know, but I expect **you** to be and I'm sorry I brought you that kind of pain. I never intended to hurt you, I just wanted to hurt her, but the outcome wasn't exactly how I pictured it…he's also my mate."_

_"What exactly is the difference?" Allison asked Charlotte curiously._

_"It's more like we're married," Charlotte admitted laughing. "It's a bond we chose to cement for life, through the good and the bad even without a ring exchange. A vow, if you will."_

_"Isn't that hard?" Allison asked her shrugging. "Scott told me you two haven't really ever…that you're both too stubborn to…"_

_Charlotte nodded and chewed on her lip. "Derek is my soul mate. It's cheesy…but it's true. That means that no matter what happens or doesn't between us, it's all worth it."_

The blonde Alpha had known that she needed to clear the air with Allison and she'd felt pretty good about it, but then that evening she'd been reminded by Phasmi that Derek was an Alpha now…that meant he needed a pack. Charlotte had just waved it off like it was obviously the next logical step and while it was, it hurt her because she didn't _want_ Derek to start a pack. She had always wanted Derek to be _in hers_ and she knew that was just her being selfish and controlling, but she couldn't help how she felt. Derek Hale was now going to have his own pack and forget all about her and what if he matched her in strength now? What if he won their 'wrestling matches'?

That part was purely selfishness.

Charlotte had _always_ bested Derek and now if he was as good at, or better than her at everything she did, she didn't know if she could just hold it all in. Maybe she was jealous of the fact that now he got to be in charge too, or maybe it was something that ran much, much deeper than that…maybe it was bitterness that he got to be an Alpha after he abandoned her all that time ago when the pack was destroyed. Either way, Charlotte tried to shake the thoughts away as Derek kissed her, holding her body close to hers and nipping at her lips in that animal fashion that she loved so much.

He'd been as close to her as he could be since Kate had tortured them and so when he teased the corners of her mouth with his tongue, she couldn't help but open her mouth. She ever moaned as his tongue slipped in, running along hers, fighting her for dominance as they always did before she tasted it—that metallic taste of blood. More than that, she knew whose blood it was and she pushed on him, making a face as Derek frowned because he just wanted to kiss his mate and celebrate all of this with her, but she seemed Hell bent on pushing him away.

"Jackson? Really?" Charlotte asked him, rolling her eyes. "Because we really need more arrogant assholes to be werewolves. Lovely choice."

Derek frowned a little more but kept his arms locked around her. "Do you enjoy ruining _all_ of my moments? I need a pack, don't I?"

"Do you really think that Jackson is going to cow-tow?" Charlotte asked as she wrapped her arms around Derek's neck. "Because I think he's going to be the kind of Beta you're going to have to really manhandle in order to make him listen."

"I think I learned from the best on that," Derek laughed as he winked, going in for the kill again, crashing his lips into Charlotte's.

Charlotte pulled back again and he groaned. "If you let a female into your pack, I get to pick."

"Why? Because I got to pick Eric?" Derek asked her shaking his head. "My pack…my choice…"

"Eric has never wanted me romantically," Charlotte protested, sighing loudly. "You're really, _really_ sexy and if you give some girl the bite and she goes for you, I'm going to kill her."

"Charlee, you're my mate…you really need to stop worrying," Derek responded as he stroked her hair. "Though…the jealousy is kind of sexy…"

Charlotte bit her lip as Derek moved in to kiss her neck gently, his claws extended now, running down her sides, a firm grip on her hips. She took the initiative to pin him to the wall with her Alpha strength, knowing he could take more of it than he had been able to before, now that he was an Alpha as well. He commented that she'd been holding back and then just like that they were wrestling…only this time Derek landed on top. Charlotte tried to roll them over, but she was suddenly very aware of just how turned on she was right now that Derek was actually the victor here and when she arched and bit her lip, Derek grinned and his red eyes flashed.

"My game now," Derek growled, swooping in to bite the hollow of her throat.

Charlotte whimpered and then grabbed his hair. "No marking…"

"No promises…" Derek responded, trying to sound nonchalant, but he was turned on by the power he had over her and he was going to make it count.

xx

Caroline was kind of confused when Stiles showed up unannounced in her room and yet…it made sense as he'd been there before. Stiles and Caroline had had a bit of an understanding when they had gotten Charlotte and she had killed Kate and then Derek killed Peter. He knew that she was trying to protect him and she knew that he was trying to protect her, and more than all of that, she knew that he had been jealous and he knew she had been as well: of Lydia.

It was hard _not_ to be jealous of Lydia and Eric was quite the looker as well so Stiles felt like a total loser and nerd up against him. Still, while it had always been his dream to go to a dance with Lydia and his heart had dropped when Peter had bitten her, he didn't want Lydia like that—however, Eric _did_ want her like that and now Stiles had a new dream. That dream was Caroline McCall even though he knew that Scott wasn't _completely_ on board with it.

_"So, why aren't you here with Caroline?" Lydia asked Stiles as they sat at one of the tables all dressed up. "I appreciate you telling me that I'm beautiful, but we both know this isn't what you wanted."_

_Stiles looked at her. "It was what I wanted once."_

_"But then you fell in love and she was beyond your reach," Lydia finished, nodding when he did. "She seems to be pretty close to that Eric Haynes…if only he played sports…"_

_"He could, but he chooses not to," Stiles pointed out, thinking that maybe match-making could work here. "For your information, also, he's single."_

_"And not here, but probably with Caroline?" Lydia asked him, laughing a little bit. "If you think they're **not** having sex, you are more stupid than you look."_

_Stiles didn't want to admit that that bothered him that Caroline and Eric spent so much time together, but on top of that deep down he felt like maybe they were. They were both Betas and she was all animalistic now and so was he and that had to be hot—fighting for dominance kind of sex. What if she'd thought about it? What if she kind of wanted him like that? Stiles wanted to be the **only one** that Caroline McCall was into and because of that…he had to tell her how he felt._

"So…?" Caroline asked him as he sat on her bed next to her. "Scott's not here at the moment—he's probably messing around with Allison."

Stiles shook his head. "I'm here for you—are you sleeping with Eric?"

"Okay, you can leave now," Caroline said quickly, standing up and shaking her head. "You can't just walk into my room and then ask me who I'm sleeping with!"

"It's killing me, okay?!" Stiles said angrily, standing up too. "It's killing me to think that everything that we could have been is slipping away! I don't want to become Charlotte! I mean she's pretty badass and she's strong and she's incredibly smart, but she's sad. She's depressed. She wants more than _anything_ to hear Derek says those three little words and he won't and neither will she. She won't admit it. She won't admit anything."

Caroline paused a moment and swallowed, her mouth dry. "I don't want to talk about Derek and Charlotte either, thank you very much."

"Damn-it, Caroline McCall, I love you!" Stiles told her, getting up in her face. "I love you! I am a mess because of you and I refuse to do this any longer!"

Caught off guard, Caroline found herself lowering her guard a moment and looking at Stiles' lips, remembering how good it felt to be with him. It had always started out as some kind of arrangement the two of them, but it was never just sex and she should have known that going…no, she _did_ know that going in. She had proposed they keep it a secret because she was afraid of getting hurt because of his feelings for Lydia and then she had become a werewolf and it was also just as much about wanting to be in full control before dragging him into a romantic relationship with her.

"I could hurt you," Caroline said lamely, shaking her head. "You don't love me. You could be with Lydia right now…I could hurt you."

Stiles could tell she was just trying to talk herself out of this. "Don't tell me how I feel, Care," he said sternly, kissing her, cupping her face with his hands, "besides, the strength thing is kind of incredibly hot…"

Caroline chuckled and in a playful moment she pinned him to her bed fast and hard, straddling his lap and then kissing him as he crooned. He had thought that her animalistic tendencies now were really attractive and as long as she didn't draw blood, she could bite him all she wanted—in fact he was going to encourage it. God, he was glad she wanted to do this with him still and not with Eric. Stiles was going to find a way to keep her and if that meant telling her how he felt more often, then so be it…he wanted her and he wanted her for real.

Not some secret.

Not just some kind of fun buddy.

He wanted her for keeps.

"I was right, the sex is hotter now," Stiles said out loud, Caroline sitting up and giving him a look as she laughed. "Nothing, just…continue."

xx

Phasmi was busy trying to figure out a reason to go to the school when Charlotte came into the kitchen that morning. She was scratched up and Phasmi chuckled because she reeked of Derek Hale, so Phasmi knew what had been going on…at least she was pretty sure of it. There was no fresh mating scent, but she was definitely sporting some werewolf claw marks and since Derek was an Alpha now, it was going to take longer for the wounds to heal even if Charlotte was an Alpha too and as such healed faster than a Beta or an Omega.

"What happened to you?" Phasmi asked laughing as she sipped her tea.

Charlotte giggled and shrugged as she poured herself some coffee. "Really mind blowing Alpha sex…then he ran off to do something and then he came back and we did some very naughty things to each other and just…I might like him being an Alpha more than I thought I would…"

"Aren't you sore?" Phasmi laughed, looking her sister over. "I mean…damn…"

"It's totally worth it, actually," Charlotte admitted as she wiggled her eyebrows. "His newfound Alpha strength is kind of making me feel a little less like making this a competition."

"Suuuuuure," Phasmi said rolling her eyes. "With you and Derek _everything_ is a competition. You hate to lose, he hates to be second best and while the sex is obviously phenomenal, it's only a matter of time before he starts a pack and you feel left out enough that you do something stupid and screw up what you have again. Am I right?"

Charlotte sighed and drank some of her coffee. "Maybe…I mean…that _is_ kind of our pattern. Do I really steal his thunder _that often_?"

"Yeah, but I'm used to it," Derek said as he came into the kitchen without a shirt on.

He was also sporting some claw marks and when Charlotte wiggled her eyebrows at Derek and commented on her handiwork, Phasmi rolled her eyes and called it quits, leaving them alone in the kitchen. Melody was out trying to smooth some things over with Chris as she had actually never spilled human blood before, and Derek found himself grinning when Charlotte kissed his neck and then one of her marks on him, making him hiss gently. It was strange that such things made him want her so bad, but at the same time he was a wolf and so was she.

Part of being a wolf was being violent.

"Safe to say that was the hottest sex ever?" Charlotte giggled, running her tongue along one of her marks as Derek traced his fingertips along her disappearing scratches from him.

Derek chuckled and nodded. "I could make it hotter though…"

"How so?" Charlotte asked, game and honestly curious.

"Right here on your mother's countertops and you let me mark you again," Derek said as he picked her up, making her shriek a moment as he set her on the counter top and got in between her legs. "It's up to you, though…"

"Yeah, I said no marking," Charlotte responded, her face flushed.

She would be lying if she said she wasn't completely aroused by the idea of Derek's proposal, but she didn't want to be freshly marked as his mate just yet. Someday, but not until the two of them were on a better similar level—she didn't mean because she was a more experienced Alpha, either. Derek and Charlotte had been arguing and pushing each other away and putting up walls the entire time they had known each other and as a mate it just made things even more intense because they were bonded. What happened when they mated again now? They were _both_ Alphas now…did that even work? They weren't in the same pack either and what if Derek would rather a different mate?

"You liked these enough," Derek pointed out, frowning at her healing rate. "You heal faster than me still…"

Charlotte nodded and slipped her fingers into his hair. "That's because I have a full pack. I am still stronger than you."

"And yet you lost at wrestling," Derek teased her, smiling a bit when she pushed on his shoulder and yet brought him closer to her body with her legs. "I do have plans for a pack…"

"That include Jackson," Charlotte said sighing loudly. "What are your other plans?"

"Isaac," Derek told her nodding. "He needs to be able to protect himself and I need more Betas…"

Charlotte looked surprised and shook her head. "You can't turn Isaac, Derek."

"I can turn whomever I want to as long as they consent," Derek said with a frown on his face. "I'm not going to force anyone to do anything—I'm not like that."

Nodding, Charlotte slipped off the counter top, smiling at the friction of her body rubbing against his and then wrapping her arms around Derek's neck. She hadn't meant to insinuate that because she knew better than anyone that Derek would make sure to ask before he just sunk his teeth into someone…it was what they had done before when they had had a pack together. Still, she'd only said it because Phasmi was into Isaac and if Isaac was told about werewolves by Derek and became one and found out that Phasmi was one, he'd be mad about being kept in the dark and Charlotte didn't want her mate to interfere with Phasmi's happy relationship.

"I meant because Phasmi is into him," Charlotte told him as she kissed him and nipped at his lips. "You can't make half of my pack want half of yours—aren't we bad enough as it is?"

Derek sighed and pulled back out of the kiss. "I thought that we agreed that—"

"—we did! We did," Charlotte cut in, stroking his hair and pulling him in for a kiss that he returned, "you can turn anyone that you want to."

"Good," Derek said, tugging on her bottom lip with his teeth. "So…what do you say I make your marks fresh?"

"Please do," Charlotte groaned with want before she placed her hand on his chest firmly, "but if you mark me as your mate without my consent—which you do _not_ have again yet—I won't mark you back."

Derek nodded even though he would admit that made him a little sad. "Understood…"

Charlotte nodded, capturing Derek's mouth with hers as he moved to unfasten her shorts, pulling them down her legs as she slipped her tongue into his mouth. They were on the same page here, Derek slipping her underwear off as she pulled off her tank top, unhooking her bra and then trying to stop him as his hand made it between her thighs, his fingers touching their intended mark. He knew just what to do to make her a moaning mess, and yet he knew what was coming before she said it.

"Condom," she panted out.

Derek nodded and got it out of the back pocket of his dark jeans. "I'm prepared…"

"Then right here…" Charlotte told him, her blue eyes staring into his hazel ones, burning with lust and love. "Just…please…"

She was giving him some control even though she wasn't really one to just give it up, unfastening his pants and then hopping her naked body up onto the counter, Derek watching her body with awe as he pushed his bottoms down and stepped out of them, crooning when Charlotte wrapped her legs around him. They needed a place other than her mother's kitchen to go at each other in, but this was slightly exciting right here in the open on the counter, both of them already aroused by the idea. Charlotte smiled and kissed Derek before pulling back, Derek letting his teeth trail along her sternum as a finger dipped in and all Charlotte could think about was how desperately she wanted him.

She gripped his hair and tugged a little bit, Derek nipping kind of hard without drawing blood, his mouth going to her nipple, tongue flicking it before he took it between his lips, sucking hard. Charlotte whimpered and scooted closer to the edge of the counter, moaning loudly when she felt his teeth graze the bud before the sucking continued and then he moved to the other nipple, chuckling when Charlotte went for the condom and opened it up. She wanted him inside of her more than ever, Derek willing to oblige because he knew how wet she was and nothing was quite like being buried inside of her.

They made eye contact as she rolled the condom onto him, keeping eye contact as he moved to press his tip inside of her, Charlotte's mouth opening up. He pushed in slowly, Charlotte losing the eye contact battle as her eyes lulled and she tilted her head back a little bit, Derek burying himself to the hilt as he raked his nails down her sides and then dug them into her hips, pulling her hard against him, growling out in pleasure as she moaned his name. That was like music to his ears as he withdrew and then pushed back in, Charlotte moaning again and tightening the grip on his hair.

She pulled him close, nails running along his tattoo, Derek groaning as slamming into her harder, which just made her moan his name louder. Her mouth found his shoulder, lips brushing against his skin as he slammed into her again, her knuckles going white from gripping the counter top with her free hand, her eyes going red and her canines elongating. He could feel her contracting against him and moaned her name, feeling her teeth roam between his shoulder and his peck, right where she'd bit him the first night he'd come back to her.

"Bite me," he begged her as he tried to push in deeper, nodding when he was rewarded with that sound she made every time he found her spot. "Charlee…"

Charlotte remembered biting him that night, but it had been out of anger, not out of wanting to mark him as her mate and now? Now she actually _wanted_ to mark him as her mate, but mating scars didn't heal the way others did—they were permanent no matter how faded. Besides, they weren't ready for that, were they? They were Alphas and they didn't know what this meant…all they knew was that this lust was heightened for some reason right now and she whispered a 'faster' as he rocked up into her spot again, digging her werewolf claws into his back.

"I can't," Charlotte whispered, nipping at his ear and crying out into it as he slammed into her a little harder than he had been.

Derek nodded, biting her nipple. "Please…"

"I want to," Charlotte admitted, crying out Derek's name as the next slam sent her toppling over the edge, Derek following as she clenched on him, nails raking down his side and his claws raking down her thighs. "Fuck…"

The curse word was gentle and she wasn't expecting Derek to pull back and then press his lips to hers like that, but he did, kissing her softer and more tender than he ever had. He cupped her face and stayed inside of her, picking her up and carrying her to her room as they caught their breaths, slipping out just as slowly as he had slipped in, keeping eye contact with her. Charlotte smiled and lazily traced shapes on his chest with one hand, stroking his hair and cheek with her other, Derek staying between her legs and nuzzling her nose like wolves did in the wild with their snouts. Every once in a while he would steal a kiss from her, Charlotte smiling and returning it, knowing he was just happy she'd admitted she still wanted to be his mate…that she _wanted_ to mark him even though she wasn't ready yet.

"YOU BIT ISAAC, YOU FUCKING BASTARD!" Phasmi thundered as she came into the house that evening.

Charlotte pushed Derek off of her and kept her sheet covering her naked body. "I'm sorry…he did what already?"

"HE BIT MY BOYFRIEND!" Phasmi yelled, throwing her show at Derek.

"How come I couldn't tell? I could tell when you bit Jackson, which means you did something so I wouldn't have any idea…" Charlotte said as she looked at Derek, shaking her head. "You were acting like it was a plan for the future."

Derek sighed loudly. "Can we talk about this later?"

"I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THIS RIGHT—" Phasmi trailed off when they heard a knock on the door, Charlotte hurriedly getting her clothes on.

Even though he was kind of upset about Charlotte getting up so fast, but she was angry with him right now for what he had done. It affected her sister, who he loved like a sister, but this was about his pack and not about them and he knew that on some level she understood, but it was all put on hold when he caught the scent…Charlotte caught it too. Just like that, Derek had jeans on and he went to the front door and tore it open, looking at the face of a wolf he had never wanted to see again—yet here he was trying to see Charlotte _again_.

"Derek!" Liam exclaimed with a grin on his face before he nodded. "And of course you smell like Charlotte so you're both still in the sack, good for you!"

Derek growled, his eyes going red. "What do you want, Liam?"

"You're an Alpha now…huh…best Charlotte and finally become a man, or did you just copy her and kill an Alpha yourself?" Liam taunted, chuckling when Derek gripped his throat hard. "I'm here to see Charlotte…something tells me she has missed me."

"About as much as Derek missed Kate," Charlotte managed as she came to the door in her tank top and short shorts, showing off Derek's marks on her without really trying to. "What do you want, Liam?"

"I want to come home to my pack," Liam said, Derek's hand still gripping his wind pipe.


	21. Playing by New Rules

"Since technically we're still connected, I figured that the strength surge was because the pack was full again…" Liam said as he trailed off, drinking some of the tea that Charlotte had given him.

She hadn't wanted to let him in, but right now she had to know what he had meant because he had said he was coming home—why did he even want that? He'd made it perfectly clear that he hadn't wanted to be part of a pack where Derek was getting 'special treatment' for being the mate and he and Darren had left…they'd made their choice. Liam had made Darren believe that Charlotte only cared about Derek and the added power she got from having a full pack, so they wanted to take that away from her and leave. The only problem with that plan was that Charlotte got to keep _their_ added power; they just lost the power that came with being the pack.

Liam and Darren were the only two werewolves out there aside from Caroline and Eric that Charlotte had turned and had survived. So, on top of having Phasmi in her pack, really this power surge had come from her having bitten them and that meant that Darren might return as well…or completely sever his ties. Shouldn't Liam and Darren have become Omegas when they left her? Become weak? They had been trained well, yes, but that was the cycle and so something else here was up if they still considered themselves part of the pack.

"Her pack doesn't need you in it," Derek told him, resting his hand on the counter. "She got along just fine without you all this time."

Phasmi nodded, taking a deep breath. "She got along fine without all of you."

"Phazzles," Charlotte said gently, shaking her head.

The admission had made Liam's eyes light up, nodding because it wasn't as if he hadn't known Derek and Charlotte well enough before to tell that something was different about them now. Other than Derek being an Alpha as well and no longer part of her pack, their mating scent was weaker than it had been before and that meant one thing: something was stopping them from re-marking each other. That gave Liam a way to weasel himself in, especially because with Derek having his own pack, wouldn't Charlotte need to have a mate in her own?

Derek could see the wheels turning in Liam's head, growling and reaching out to grab him by the throat again, wanting to kill him and be done with it. It bothered him that Charlotte had bitten him and so they were connected, but it also made sense to him as to why it was she was so much stronger since then—they never really left her. They had left _him_ and on some level Derek had always known that and it was part of why he had abandoned Charlotte before…the other part was because he'd thought Charlotte might go for Liam. He was handsome and a very skilled wolf, not to mention he did pretty much anything that Charlotte told him to do and Derek hated himself for helping her to pick him out all those years ago for her to turn.

Liam had become romantically attached.

Charlotte had never wanted anything to do with Liam romantically, but Derek had been so insecure about it that he'd had to leave Charlotte on her own. She could have gone after Liam and Darren and made it right and added to her pack, but instead she'd chosen to return to her mother and her sister and be alone. Derek hadn't actually sat down and thought about it like that, but it almost brought a smile to his face because Charlotte didn't want that—she had even not wanted a new pack without _Derek_ in it. She was in love with him, even if she wouldn't say it…and Derek was in love with her too.

"Hey, now," Phasmi cut in, surprised Charlotte was letting Derek do this, "you can't manhandle our pack just because you're upset about barely having your own. Let him go…"

Derek growled and turned to look at her, hand still wrapped around Liam's throat. "You can't be serious, Phasmi! Don't you understand what he's done?!"

"I understand that he developed a thing for my sister and was a giant dick," Phasmi nodded, knowing the full story already. "That doesn't mean you get to just kill him. If you want to mark your territory, that's fine, but you don't really have a leg to stand on here when you can't even claim what's already yours. Let him go…"

"You're just upset about Isaac," Derek said as he roughly tossed Liam down to the ground. "When he leaves, I will come back."

Charlotte made a face. "Derek…"

He shook his head and went for the front door, Charlotte following him because she didn't want him to go—not at all. She wanted him to stay and not make her deal with Liam all on her own, Liam chuckling and then voicing his pain when Phasmi hit him hard in the shoulder as Charlotte quickly beat Derek to the door, getting in between him and it. Derek gave her a look and then tried not to smile when Charlotte wrapped her arms around his neck and looked him in the eye.

"I don't want him here either," Charlotte admitted, taking a deep breath. "Did you by any chance bite Isaac while everyone else was out looking for Lydia?"

Derek sighed loudly. "Yes…look, _my_ pack, remember? Maybe Phasmi should try and understand that."

"I'm annoyed, but I _did_ tell you that I owed you for not telling you about my pack," Charlotte told him as she stole a kiss from him. "Just next time I think maybe we should try to talk about it?"

"I suppose I can do that, but can you please get rid of him?" Derek asked her as he looked towards the kitchen with a frown.

Charlotte nodded and stole another kiss before she headed toward the kitchen, stopping in her tracks when she heard what was going on in there: conversation. This was the first time Phasmi and Liam had ever met, but it seemed as though they were getting along not because Phasmi enjoyed his company, but because she had someone to complain to about Derek. Understanding that, Charlotte waited outside to eavesdrop on the conversation that was occurring.

"So who is this Isaac character?" Liam asked as he drank his tea.

Phasmi took a deep breath. "He was my boyfriend until Derek bit him."

"Oh, I see—made him part of his pack without telling anyone?" Liam asked laughing. "Well, at least he's got his own set of Betas to boss around, right? We've got the better Alpha."

"She doesn't want you," Phasmi told Liam bluntly as she shrugged. "Just like right now Isaac doesn't want me…"

_Phasmi knew the moment that she got to Isaac that evening that he was different—she could smell that he was a werewolf and the worst part was that he could smell her too. At first he was stunned and Phasmi's smile quickly turned into a frown, even more so when she took a step toward him and Isaac took a step back._

_"Are you in Derek's pack?" Isaac asked her slowly._

_She shook her head. "No, I'm not and this wasn't how I wanted you to find out."_

_"All this time you could have helped me and you didn't," Isaac said slowly, sad. "Instead you wanted me to stay weak so you could pity me."_

_"You know it's not like that!" Phasmi told him, raising her voice. "I wanted you to hear about **all** of this from **me** , but there wasn't a right moment! I like you, I don't pity you!"_

_She tried to move toward him again but Isaac moved away, shaking his head and telling her to stay away from him. Phasmi could feel the pain in her heart as she watched him take off, wanting to cry but knowing that she couldn't…not like this and certainly not here. Instead she was going to focus all of her energy on being mad at Derek because Derek had ruined her plan to ease Isaac into this as gently as possible…she was going to hurt him._

"Yes, well, those are the key words, aren't they Phasmi?" Liam asked her with a grin, "…'right now'…"

xx

Having Liam around was already starting to get on Charlotte's nerves, making her glad to be doing her job at the High School that day. She was cheerful and talked to every student that came in, but it was slow and just when she thought her whole day was going to be pretty boring, her ears perked up because she had picked up that familiar smell: her mate's smell. Derek was here and it was probably because he was checking on Jackson and Isaac, so Charlotte followed the scent.

It led her to the boy's bathroom and while she didn't really want to be seen going in there because she was a woman and an adult, she wanted to know what was going on. So, she opened it up and then locked the door behind her when she saw that it was just her, Derek and Jackson in there. That seemed perfect even though once again she was interfering in matters that didn't involve _her_ pack, and yet a smile was brought to her face when Derek handled Jackson like he'd handled Liam, only by grabbing his shoulder and not his neck.

"Derek…" Jackson said and then did a double take. "Why is she here?"

Charlotte laughed and shook her head rather annoyed. "Because I can be anywhere that I want to be…including the boy's bathroom…"

"Looking a little pale there, Jackson," Derek told him before brushing off his shoulder. "Feeling okay?"

Watching Jackson flinch filled Charlotte with a little bit of joy, mainly because she'd heard so much about him—seen him in action. Jackson had really never cared much for anyone else…or at least didn't care much for their feelings. He always felt like he was the one that should get everything he wanted and he should be in charge and the best and Charlotte honestly wanted to knock him down a peg or two…or fifty. Not to mention that everyone in her pack had had to deal with him being an asshole personally more than once.

"Never better," Jackson said, moving as Derek did, looking at him.

"If something's wrong, I need to know," Derek explained firmly. "You're with me now."

Jackson laughed a little bit. "Um…me? With you? What am I, your little pet? What? Just because you gave me 'the bite' doesn't mean I'm part of your little werewolf pack."

"That's actually kind of exactly what it means," Charlotte said, moving to grab Jackson by the neck when he scoffed at her. "I wouldn't piss me off if I were you. I've been an Alpha for years."

"So…" Jackson tried, though he was terrified and Charlotte grinned.

"So, I may not be part of Derek's pack like Scott technically is, but Derek bit you, and that means that he's _your_ Alpha," Charlotte explained before she frowned. "That is…if you even turn…"

She let go of Jackson and Derek put his hand on Jackson's face, turning him to face the mirror. What looked like black blood was coming out of his ear and Derek started to back away to leave as Charlotte grabbed Jackson some paper towels. His body was doing something weird and even rejecting the bite, Charlotte had never even seen this happen. Either you got bit and you became a wolf, or you got bit and your body lost the battle and you died.

"It's possible your body is rejecting the bite," Charlotte explained as Derek took his leave of Jackson. "If something like this happens again…you need to come to me."

Jackson looked at her as his nose began to leak again. "I thought that you just gave me a whole speech about how Derek is my Alpha now."

"He is, but I'm a little more equipped to handle this," Charlotte explained before she left, quickly so no one would see her go.

She hurried to go and finish out the day, trying to call Derek, but he ignored her phone call because he was trying so hard to be a good Alpha and he was failing. Isaac was a bit of a hormonal mess because he wanted to be with Phasmi but he felt lied to, and Jackson's body was fighting the bite and he couldn't even stick around to figure it out. Instead, he was hiding out and right after school, Charlotte decided to go and find him because she really wanted to be near him and understand. Derek wasn't used to this even though he'd seen her in action, and Charlotte wanted to explain to him that it was perfectly alright for him to not know what was happening right now.

Charlotte knew she would find him at the Hale house, so she headed there, looking around the place and sighing loudly. There were traps around and Derek had gotten past them, but he was upset that the hunters had basically taken this place over. It made Charlotte want to offer to have _both_ of their packs in the same place, but Derek had carved out an old abandoned place to stay hidden and it made Charlotte sigh a bit as she went in the door. Derek came to the top of the stairs and started to descend, Charlotte smiling at him, glad they were alone.

"I don't want a lecture," Derek told her.

She laughed and waved her hand to wave it off. "I'm not going to lecture you. Being a good Alpha takes a _lot_ of practice—I'm not even a good one yet."

"You've been a terrific Alpha since you decided to be one," Derek sighed loudly, sitting on the bottom step. "You were born to be one…"

"Doesn't mean that you weren't," Charlotte responded as she sat down next to him. "I mean, you've been an Alpha for a few days or something, right? You are going to make plenty of mistakes and bad calls, but that doesn't make you a _bad_ Alpha. Neither of us have been through this, whatever Jackson is going through, okay? I mean, you could have handled it _better_ , but that doesn't make you _bad_. Wanna make-out?"

Derek chuckled, groaning in happiness as Charlotte practically jumped him, kissing her passionately and keeping her body close to his. Ever since he had admitted that he felt something here and it was never 'just sex' with them, he'd felt that they had been happier together and that was something that Derek enjoyed feeling: happiness. So, he nipped at her lips and slipped his fingers into her hair, slipping his tongue into her mouth, both of them fighting for dominance, which was their normal dance. In fact Derek was starting to get a little aroused and the scent was starting to put Charlotte on that exact same page with him.

Charlotte moaned as she arched against him, Derek stopping as she did…it was a strange scent, but she was willing to follow it with him even if she would rather he follow through on this. In fact, there were a few scents and the two Alphas hurried out into the woods, Derek grabbing Scott when they found him, and Charlotte asking who the hunters were—they were Argents, led by Gerard, Allison's grandfather. They were reinforcements and she knew that, knowing that this was probably the big part of the fallout from her killing Kate. Chris had an agreement with Melody and had blamed the kill on Peter, Allison not telling anyone otherwise and even Allison's mother didn't know.

That meant that Charlotte was safe for now…but the Omega wasn't.

Scott had been fighting an Omega in the forest that got strung up in a trap, Scott trying to save him, but Derek grabbed him and dragged him away from the scene, Charlotte moving to help until she smelled it: hunters. Even so, she was going to get him down until he tried to bite her, Charlotte snarling and then getting a kick in the stomach. If it was between her and this Omega she should have chosen herself and she would have…but that just wasn't like her. She got the trap off and then ran off to help Derek, turning around when the Omega triggered another trap and then as she was about to go to him, the hunters showed up.

Then Scott struggled against Derek to try and save him, even Charlotte shaking her head at him because Scott was still just a Beta and they were outnumbered…but Charlotte was Charlotte. She was sure that she could take on 5 hunters just to save an Omega, but at the same time she wasn't sure that she should really let herself be known to Gerard when he was obviously trying to make a point, taking out a sword and cutting the Omega in half. In fact, Charlotte was going to make sure to get Scott out of here so he didn't get hurt like the lone wolf just had, but then she smelled him: Darren.

Derek growled, but Charlotte wolfed out, letting out a roar as the hunters turned on Darren. He had come to try and save the Omega, but he was just a Beta and he was about to get himself killed and Charlotte couldn't just let it happen. Even if he had abandoned her, she was still technically his Alpha and Gerard was no longer going by the code, which meant that no one was safe and that meant that Charlotte was going to have to act before she thought more than normal…even if that could be a bad thing in the long run.

So, Charlotte raced in.

Knowing she would want him to protect Scott, Derek stayed put, ready to jump into action if Charlotte needed him, but she took out two hunters easily, Darren killing the other. He was going to go for Gerard and Chris, but she roared at him and he cow-towed, following her out of the forest, Gerard ready to go after them. It was obvious that he hadn't been expecting a female Alpha to show up and as Charlotte got Darren away and led him to her home, she was trying to figure out what she was going to do…her pack had just gotten two more members.


	22. Uncomfortable Truths

"I still don't understand why they're here," Eric said as he, Phasmi and Caroline stood in the kitchen, Charlotte with Liam and Darren in the living room.

Caroline took a deep breath. "They don't even look like they really like her. I mean Darren isn't even happy that Charlotte saved him."

"Charlotte turned them, so she feels obligated to help them," Phasmi explained shrugging. "To be honest, I don't trust either of them. My sister might be loveable, but she's been betrayed so many times that I just…"

"Plus, I mean, look at everything that's happened lately," Eric said shaking his head. "I mean Kate tortured her, Chris threatened her life, Darren doesn't care that she saved him….after what she gave them, I can't believe they actually don't care about using her. Why does she let them? Why are the Argents still letting her live? With Gerard here now killing all werewolves, are we even safe?"

"Mothering is her fatal flaw," Derek told them as he came into the kitchen unannounced. "If you think that this truce with the Argents has anything to do with Charlotte, you're sorely mistaken. Chris would kill her because she has blood on her hands, but he owes Melody—she has something on him. They aren't going to alert Gerard, but at the same time Charlotte needs to be smarter about this. Two of our old pack members came out of nowhere and she's giving them tea."

Phasmi sighed loudly. "She's a big forgiver,"

"She can also hear you," Charlotte said from the other room.

They had all had a feeling that she could, but they were worried because it was true that mothering was one of her flaws. She had a really bad habit of trying to be everyone's friend even when she hated them—or worse, killing because she thought she was being protective and not thinking about the consequences that happened next. More than only having eyes for Derek, Charlotte had always known that Liam wasn't in love with her…it was the thrill of a pretty girl being his Alpha. Derek being the mate had put him basically second in command and Liam and Darren had been a means to an end.

Charlotte wasn't even going to deny that.

She and Derek didn't pick them because they liked them and wanted to be around them…they picked them because they completed their pack, which was what Derek was doing now. It might annoy Charlotte a little bit because he didn't know who he was turning just as they didn't, but at the same time maybe he was doing this for a reason. He was hiding things from her and while she knew that Jackson trusted her more than Derek, he didn't like her—she could tell that. Derek knew about something that was happening and he'd _needed_ Jackson even though he didn't _want_ him…but everything was already going to Hell in a hand basket.

Getting up and excusing herself from the others, Charlotte went into the kitchen and took a deep breath as she poured herself some coffee. She hadn't been completely honest with everyone and it was killing her that her pack was still so much in the dark about her past pack when they were her pack—they were her family now. Charlotte had alerted Gerard to the fact that there was a female Alpha calling some shots and it was only a matter of time before he was onto her and then onto her pack, which made her the worst Alpha ever, endangering her pack like that.

"Derek and I kind of described all of this like Liam was jealous of Derek because he wanted me and turned Darren against us," Charlotte explained as she sighed loudly. "That wasn't entirely true and I figured that out the hard way."

Darren nodded as he came into the kitchen as well. "Wolves are stronger in numbers."

"We know, Charlotte told us," Caroline told him angrily.

"Yes, well, then does it occur to you that maybe a wolf would want to be as strong as can be in the beginning?" Darren asked her shrugging. "When you don't know what you're doing and a pretty girl gives you an incredible gift, you sure as Hell want to capitalize on the gift."

"My pack was a necessity," Charlotte explained shaking her head. "It wasn't because we were all some group of people who loved each other. It was because together we were stronger, we were being hunted, and we needed each other."

"Not that I wouldn't screw your sister," Liam told Phasmi as he came into the room. "That part isn't an exaggeration. I would still like to be her mate."

It annoyed Charlotte that that much was true, resting her hand on Derek's wrist when he growled at Liam and then looked at Charlotte and made a face. He didn't want to be told to stand down like he was just her Beta mate anymore, and so he angrily shook her off and he left, Charlotte sighing loudly and then deciding that she was just going to let it go. Right now Derek needed to figure out what he was going to do with his pack he was making and she needed to figure _this_ out.

"We're two people up," Liam said grinning. "That makes us potentially strong enough to take on the Argents and their reinforcements, right? By the way, you reek of Derek Hale."

Charlotte glared at him. "This isn't a game, Liam, and it never was. If you rejoin, you do everything that I say—you follow my every command without so much as a question, understood?"

"Understood," Liam agreed, Darren nodding and agreeing as well. "Teenagers, though?"

"We're resilient," Caroline shot at him, squirming a little bit. "Still, if you're part of the pack then you're part of the family."

"You're still using that line?" Darren asked Charlotte, growling when Phasmi hit him upside the head. "Fine…if it comes down to protecting each other, I have your backs if you have mine."

Charlotte nodded and grabbed her purse. "We're at an understanding. I have to go take care of some things, but make yourselves at home, I guess…"

xx

Phasmi was worried about Isaac, not caring whether or not he was mad at her, taking a deep breath and heading to find him. Derek had taken off earlier and Phasmi was still mad at him, but she knew that it was just because he had ruined how she had planned to tell Isaac about everything because she cared about him. Honestly, her life hadn't been a terrible one, but it hadn't been a walk in the park either and what she thought she had with Isaac had to be stronger than this…had to mean more than this.

It didn't help that Caroline and Stiles seemed happy again and all over each other.

When Matthew had left his family behind, Phasmi blamed Charlotte for a long time before she really sat down and saw the signs. Her father had left partially because of Charlotte, but it was only because Charlotte had inherited her father's need for control and with Charlotte an Alpha of her own and mating without knowing the consequences first, Matthew was done and thought he was a failure. On top of that, he was just the kind of guy that wandered and probably wouldn't have even stayed with Melody as long as he had, had they not had kids—or puppies as everyone seemed to call them.

Actually, it didn't really bother Phasmi that wolves were thought of at dogs pretty much all the time because they act like them and even being humans kind of, they were animals. Werewolves were kind of like real wolves, which were in the dog family and she was proud to be more than just a mere human—she was proud that she wasn't weak. What she _wasn't_ proud of, was the fact that she was acting like a schoolgirl when she needed to be her strong, independent self. She held her head up high and moved to go and talk to Isaac, but he came running toward her instead.

Every bit of what was strong about her seemed to crumble seeing him distraught.

"It's my dad!" Isaac told her, water streaming down his face.

She hadn't even cared that it had been raining because she really wanted to get to Isaac and now it seemed like everything was wrong when he told her he was dead. Then, he dragged her to go and see Derek to let him know because Derek was his Alpha, and he could tell that there was something very off with them. Derek and Phasmi were very tense with each other and it made Isaac feel a bit uncomfortable because his Alpha and the girl he was very much attracted to, didn't seem to get along.

"Who do you think killed your father?" Phasmi asked in the awkward silence.

Isaac looked at her and shook his head. "I don't know, but I _do_ know that whatever it was, was really strong, almost like…"

"…like another wolf…" Phasmi nodded, chewing on her lip. "You don't think that Jackson did it, do you?"

"No, I don't," Derek told Phasmi, aware he was being put on the spot. "His body is rejecting the bite…I don't think he's a werewolf at all. It's possible, though, that it was Liam or Darren. They just show up out of nowhere and I'm sure that you know all about what they used to do when we were a full pack—the feeding and hunting for fun. Granted, they only ate small animals, but they enjoy a good kill more than the rest of us."

Isaac made a face. "So why is Charlotte letting them stay?"

He was so new to this world of werewolves and he had no idea why Charlotte would let two dangerous wolves stay, but then Phasmi cut in and started talking about it. Her sister was an Alpha and she had turned the two, so they were her responsibility regardless of what it was that they said or did—it was her job to make it all better.

"I'm only mad you didn't tell me, V," Isaac told her when they all slipped into silence again. "All this time you could have helped me to protect myself and you didn't."

Isaac using the nickname that Phasmi had had as a child made Derek aware now just how close that Isaac and Phasmi were—no one really knew Phasmi's real name anymore. The Hales did and obviously so did the Stilinskis, but the moment Phasmi turned 13 and really came into all of her werewolf abilities, she started calling herself 'Phasmi' and introducing herself as 'Phasmi' and acting like her name was really 'Phasmi'. Isaac, however, knew her _real_ name and had taken to calling her affectionate nicknames, which meant that the two were closer than Derek had realized and he didn't know how he felt about that.

Obviously, Phasmi was allowed to have love and choose her mate as she would, but Derek knew just how intense it was to _have_ a mate. He and Charlotte were constantly battling against that and come this next full moon he wasn't sure just how he was going to be able to get through it all because he was going to need Charlotte…and also train his pack, because he was going to have one by then. Derek was already going through a list of teenagers that he could turn and while he hadn't gone over it with Charlotte, he knew that everything was going to be fine—he at least had to believe that.

Phasmi sighed a little bit. "I was afraid for you. It's not like I didn't think you wouldn't survive, but I just—there was the possibility that you could die and I didn't know how to tell you. I thought you were going to look at me differently and that was the _last_ thing that I wanted."

"I can't look at you differently," Isaac admitted reaching out to take her hand. "You worry far too much, V—everything is going to get better now."

Derek cleared his throat. "Isaac's right…and he should also be resting up so that he can go to school tomorrow…shouldn't you be doing that too?"

xx

Charlotte had the day off, so she dropped Phasmi off at the campus and then went home to spend some time with her mother. It turned out that Melody had visited Peter when he had revealed himself, and they had had a talk about none other than Derek and Charlotte…a chat that Melody felt that Charlotte really needed to be let in on. It was about time that Melody sat down with her daughter and explained how things were because Charlotte hadn't really been home after she and Derek became mates and so Melody hadn't known until it was too late. Even more than that, Charlotte and Derek had called it quits because he had abandoned her and so Melody hadn't felt like she really needed to lecture her daughter—at least not until Derek and Charlotte were now once again in the same vicinity.

"Oooooh, Starbucks," Charlotte said excitedly when her mother handed her a grande drink from there and then motioned to the back yard.

It was nice out and Charlotte enjoyed spending time with her mother, knowing that they were about to talk about something important. They had touched on Melody's deal with Chris, but it was really just a debt that he owed her, helping her to protect her children even though Chris would more than happily destroy Charlotte for spilling human blood. She wasn't a bad person, she just had a tendency to lash out before thinking and that got her into situations like these where Melody had to clean up her mess for her and she was sure that Peter had felt the same about Derek sometimes.

_"I suppose I didn't expect to see you," Peter told Melody as she joined him, walking alongside him on the sidewalk. "Matthew hasn't even come to visit…"_

_Melody nodded slowly. "Because your best friend or not, he ran off instead of taking responsibility for himself and his family."_

_"It have anything to do with your lovely, Alpha daughter?" Peter asked her, smirking. "Seems she and Derek have taken on the role of mates…a rash decision on their part?"_

_"Entirely—they have no idea what it means," Melody said and then sighed loudly. "I didn't come to talk about them, though…I came to warn you."_

_Peter chuckled and nodded. "I wouldn't threaten me if I were you, Mel…my bite is worse than my bark."_

_"I understand your need for revenge, but you are dragging in teenagers that aren't even being given a choice in the matter," Melody explained to him, stopping him and standing in front of him. "You really need to take a look at what you're doing before you find yourself actually dead."_

_"Why?" Peter asked her, eyes going red. "Are you going to kill me, Mel?"_

_"Charlotte and Derek just might," Melody told him slowly. "You kill your own niece in cold blood and you're not going to get away with it…"_

Melody smiled at her daughter and sipped her tea, Charlotte swirling her coffee around in its cup so that the flavoring, espresso and milk all truly mixed together, smiling at her mother. It felt like just yesterday that Melody had brought Charlotte home from the hospital, but here she was, practically a grown woman and definitely an Alpha. Charlotte had her own pack that she mothered and protected and it made Melody smile even though this was going to be a partially uncomfortable conversation. She didn't quite know how to begin this conversation, but it was a talk that they had to have and so she took a deep breath and decided to dive right on in.

"Your father and I are mates, you know," Melody told Charlotte suddenly.

Charlotte laughed and nodded. "Yes, I know—so how does this tie in with Derek and I being mates? I know that's where this conversation is headed."

"I told you that your father and I were reckless," Melody explained with a smile at her daughter, "I just never really explained to you why I worded it like that."

"You were young when you had me, I understand…even though you weren't _that_ young," Charlotte said, leaning forward in the patio chair. "Are you worried? Should I be worried?"

"I just want you to understand," Melody said shaking her head and shrugging. "You know how being a werewolf makes you more aware of everything? Sight, touch, smell, taste—all of it?" Melody asked, smiling when Charlotte nodded. "Well, being a mate makes you partially aware of your mate's feelings and needs as well. You're in tune with them, you know? Linked."

Charlotte blushed and smiled. "I know…I can smell Derek from miles away and sometimes I feel in my gut that something is wrong when it is. We didn't realize that it would…"

"…be so intense?" Melody asked, stroking her eldest's hair and nodding. "You guys were young when you did it, and you were an Alpha—it affects you greatly. Besides, if you don't keep up the bond, then you aren't letting your body get used to the changes and it does strange things. Then again…the more you keep it up, the harder it is to be apart."

Charlotte actually felt like she had known that that explanation was coming and it made her feel even worse about it all. She and Derek hadn't asked anyone or done any kind of research before they'd just dived into something very, very chemical and now they were bonded and what if Derek wanted out? They could get new mating marks and he could be attached to someone who wasn't as afraid of telling him that she loved him as Charlotte was.

Her mother noticed Charlotte's expression and took a deep breath. "All I want you to be aware of is the fact that you are _both_ Alphas now and that means that the mating bond will be even more intense until you can learn to live with and control it."

"I need to go to the store," Charlotte said suddenly.

Melody nodded and let her go, Charlotte pulling her hair up in a high pony tail and grabbing her purse and her jacket. She was wandering up and down the aisles, stopping to look at cereal for no good reason and then smelling a familiar person come and stand next to her. Charlotte turned and looked at Chris Argent, giving him a polite smile and then looking back at the **Crispix** and trying to focus on the fact that she was standing next to a hunter…who wanted to have her head on a platter.

Kate might have gotten what she deserved to some degree, but she was still Chris' sister and Gerard's daughter. Charlotte tried really hard not to focus on that as she grabbed the box, catching the look on Chris' face as she tried to move past him and he stepped in her way. She wanted to get as far away from him as possible even though they were in a public setting and that meant that he wasn't going to do anything to her. Still, he had something to say and the moment he said it, Charlotte knew that things were worse than she had thought.

"You might want to keep that scar of yours covered," Chris told her, that smile on his face that made sane people wet themselves and feel turned on all at once. "Nothing is going to make my father want to kill you more than catching a glance at a mating scar, singling you out as a problem."

Charlotte's hand went to her scar instinctively and she covered it. "How do you even know what it is?"

"I know all about a lot of things," Chris said shrugging. "Your kind is my business and even if I wasn't as knowledgeable about it as I am, I would know something was up with a very obvious bite that didn't heal on an Alpha…not that it isn't mostly faded like it's a fading scar, but you get my point. If I know about it, then you can be sure that Gerard does…"

"Why not let me find out the hard way?" Charlotte asked him slowly.

Chris smiled and started to move past her. "Because I made your mother a promise…what you should be worried about right now, is Isaac…"


	23. Sometimes Power Corrupts

"So, basically you're telling me that they're going to kill him?" Charlotte asked Stiles on the phone as she headed toward the police station where Isaac was being held.

Stiles nodded and ran his hand over his head. "Yeah, yeah…Phaz is already on her way but you need to hurry, alright?"

"Just make sure you have Derek," Charlotte told him quickly.

"Why do I need Derek?" Stiles asked her shaking his head.

"Because Derek is Isaac's Alpha. If something bad happens, then Derek has the power to command him," Charlotte explained before sighing loudly. "Just do it, okay?"

Stiles nodded and once at the Sheriff's station, he saw Charlotte drive up and get out of the car, Derek getting out of the car as well. They both knew that they had to focus right now, but it wasn't like they weren't a bit sexually charged around each other during the full moon and it was part of the driving force behind all of the sex lately. Still, it was time to focus on Isaac and Derek knew that, he and Charlotte able to control themselves like this.

That wasn't entirely true of Eric and Caroline.

They were mostly under control, but Stiles knew that Caroline was still upset with herself and even more so since they made up. She wanted to be able to completely control herself, but she couldn't, not matter how hard she had been working with Charlotte. This was only her second full moon and it made her feel a little antsy because earlier she had Stiles had gotten a little hot and heavy before her claws had actually come out and bad things had happened. No matter how many times Charlotte said that all emotions were heightened—especially lust and anger—Caroline had thought that maybe she and Stiles could get through this, but the fear remained.

_Caroline took a sharp intake of breath and felt her throat constrict as she looked at the destruction around her, Stiles leaning there against the wall. She was still trying to be in control of her werewolf impulses and with Stiles it was just so hard…he heightened every emotion that she had, including the anger._

_"Did I really just do that?" Caroline asked him slowly._

_Stiles looked around and shook his head. "No, no…well, yes, but it's fine. Everything is going to be fine."_

_"I told you that I wasn't supposed to be around you anymore!" Caroline yelled at him before she turned to storm out of the door._

_Stiles began to protest, but he knew that had Charlotte not been here that Caroline could have done some serious damage and she needed some alone time. There was a lot going on with her and he wanted to follow, but he was helpless to hold his own against the werewolf and it was tearing his heart in two. All he could do was bang his head against the wall and try to come up with a good way to calm her down—she meant more to him than anything._

Seeing her there right now was making Stiles feel the need to talk to her, but everyone could sense the tension and so Charlotte stepped right in.

She took a deep breath. "So what's the plan? Eric can always flirt and distract…"

"Eric is a teenager—best I do it," Derek said shrugging.

"I'm sorry, _you_?" Stiles asked, bursting out laughing. "Charlotte has a better chance."

Rolling her eyes, Charlotte sighed. "Actually, Derek is rather good at the distracting thing. He's handsome, he's good at using lines and just…I don't like it, but we don't have the time to argue. Care and Eric? You guys stay out here with Phasmi just in case the hunters show and don't stay to fight them—come straight inside to us."

Charlotte gave them her Alpha eyes when they started to protest and they sighed, Charlotte looking at Derek, who laughed a little because he knew she was looking at him because she wasn't happy about this. Maybe she didn't want him to remark her and she wasn't ready to remark him, but at the same time he knew that she didn't want to lose him and so he kissed her quickly so it looked like he was just doing it for her benefit and then he headed to the door. She nodded because he was trying not to be all PDA in public, but they didn't have the time to cover it up.

"Hey…where are Liam and Darren?" Stiles asked slowly.

Taking another deep breath Charlotte shrugged. "They don't give a rat's ass about Derek's pack or Isaac being judged guilty when he's innocent for his father's death. They're at home."

"Last I knew they were watching TV," Eric chimed in.

"So much for a pack," Stiles grumbled, recoiling when Charlotte growled.

She wasn't mad at Stiles, nor would she ever take it out on him, but she was just as upset as everyone else that they weren't here. They weren't helping, they didn't care, and just because she was the Alpha didn't mean she could force them to care and that bothered her more than anything else. So, she just focused on Derek going into the police station to distract the woman and then she and Stiles went inside, Stiles running into the man that the Argent's sent and he nabbed him, Charlotte going full Alpha and growling, barreling at them before he could inject anything into him, knocking him out.

Stiles quickly pulled the fire alarm and then Charlotte looked up as she saw Isaac go for Stiles, Derek coming in just in time to roar at Isaac before Charlotte had to act. The roar was the exact kind she had used on Caroline and Eric to stop them, an Alpha controlling a Beta. They didn't have much time, so when Isaac went back to his old self, Charlotte coaxed him up and helped him out, everyone heading out because Isaac needed to hide like Derek had and Charlotte wanted her pack as far away from this as she could get them…what Derek wanted though?

A full pack.

xx

Charlotte had been aware of Derek's plan to turn Erica Reyes into a werewolf.

Derek had come to her about it because Erica had epilepsy and giving her the bite would not only make her healthier, but in turn helped her and his pack he was managing to create. He wouldn't have even brought it to Charlotte's attention except he knew how jealous she got and he didn't want her to hate one of his new wolves…regardless of the fact that he wouldn't back off of the idea. Then again, Charlotte had only asked once because even she liked the idea of Erica getting healed and being given a chance at a better life.

In fact, Charlotte never would have turned Caroline if she wasn't giving her a chance to live—she would have left her alone. As it was, not only did she save Caroline's life, but she now had a good friend that she thought of as her little wolf and so when Derek said it would give Erica a better life, Charlotte had caved before she'd even asked Derek if he was sure he didn't want an all male pack. Instead, she let him stroke her hair and kiss her passionately and drag her to bed to show her that she was still his mate and so she was alright with it.

"I'm mostly okay with it," Charlotte said as she looked at him, lying on her stomach and letting Derek run his fingers along her bare shoulder.

Derek smiled at her. "You're my mate."

"That I am," Charlotte told him as she leaned down to kiss him. "I am going to have to remind her of that, however. No, no, don't open your mouth to speak right now. The bite is going to fix her, and she's already pretty, so she'll end up being smoking hot and you'll be her savior and you're smoking hot and strong and brooding and sexy and yeah…I'm going to mark my territory."

"Just don't hurt her," Derek said as he kissed her again. "I need a full pack."

"No promises," Charlotte teased, smiling when Derek chuckled and leaned up to kiss her.

Charlotte giggled and let Derek have a little control before turning the tables on him, heading to work after it and even calling Derek when Erica had a seizure. It gave him the perfect opportunity to get to her because he could sneak into the hospital and get to her—which was just what he did, but since Scott wouldn't join them, they needed another pack mate and Charlotte didn't know who that was going to be. At the same time, she knew that she had to stay out of it because it was Derek's pack, until Derek texted her and told her it was done.

Stiles and Scott called her a little bit later, telling her that they knew what was happening and they were pretty sure that Derek was turning Boyd and asked her what she knew. Charlotte said that she was going to call them back, phoning Derek to ask him where he was, Derek telling her something vague, but she went to the ice rink just as Caroline and Eric tried calling her about Lydia and her freak outs lately that Charlotte was starting to think was connected to the bite. Right now Phasmi and Isaac were trying to deal with being from two different packs, and Charlotte wasn't surprised when she saw Scott at the rink…but she had a feeling that something bad was going to happen.

"I'm sorry, is this about to be a showdown?" Charlotte asked, watching as Erica's claws came out, but Isaac shook his head at her and she gave him a look. "Seems the girl toy isn't aware of who I am…"

Erica smiled at her. "You're the scent—"

"—all over my mate, yes," Charlotte responded and then looked at Scott, Boyd behind him. "Scott, you may not like this, but Derek has the right to make a pack. Hell, I don't even like it, but Erica has a better life now, Boyd has somewhere to belong if he wants to and Isaac certainly likes being able to protect himself."

"I'm not too happy about being a fugitive, but other than that I'm great," Isaac agreed, Charlotte smiling at him and then looking back at Scott. "This doesn't have to be a—"

"—it's bad enough you have your own pack, but we don't need more!" Scott yelled at Charlotte.

Derek nodded and shook his head. "Did you forget the part where she saved your sister's life?"

"That didn't mean she needed to turn Eric and make a pack!" Scott said loudly.

Charlotte sighed, knowing that Scott had never really been her friend even though he was grateful that she had saved his sister and while he trusted her more than Derek…Charlotte got it. He thought that this whole thing was a bad thing because he had never wanted it and in many ways it complicated his life, but Charlotte fully believed in letting people choose and right now it would be nice to have more wolves to try and take care of things even if the hunters thought it was overkill. Still, Charlotte wasn't very happy when Erica and Isaac went to fight Scott, moving to become part of it when Derek stopped her and she noticed that Scott had it under control—Boyd was just watching.

Then, as Scott tried to explain to them that Derek was just doing this for power, Derek started toward him and Charlotte watched him and Scott start fighting before she got in the middle of it. Derek wasn't very happy about that, but regardless of him being an Alpha with a full pack now, Boyd already bitten, there was no way that he could just take her. Charlotte could kick his ass from here to Timbuktu if she wanted to and beating one of her pack member's brother, to a pulp, was not a good idea to keep Charlotte happy with him.

"Just stop, okay?" Charlotte said, pushing on their chests as Scott tried not to taste the blood in his mouth or focus on the scratch on his side. "Derek, take your pack and go, you've made your demonstration. Scott? Stop. You can't win here and you're just going to have to accept that this is happening. DEREK!"

Though he wasn't very happy about it, Derek nodded and his pack followed him, Charlotte taking deep breaths when Scott told her to leave him alone. It hurt that he was so angry and he currently didn't trust her, and it annoyed her that Derek also seemed upset, but Charlotte didn't want them all to be at each other's throats. If the Argents were going to strike, then all of the werewolves were going to have to be on the same team…right now, it looked as if that wasn't going to happen.

xx

"DEREK BEAT UP MY _BROTHER_! ERICA HIT STILES WITH PART OF HIS CAR!" Caroline yelled, pacing the living room. "WHY ARE THEY EVEN STILL ALIVE?!"

Charlotte rolled her eyes. "Because we don't just go around killing people, Care—I already got mad at her and made my threats and you know why I'm not killing Derek…"

"Yeah, you don't beat on our cousin and get away with it," Phasmi explained as she sighed. "Still…I wonder if maybe we shouldn't ignore Derek and his pack."

"Phazzles…" Charlotte tried before Phasmi cut her off.

"Isaac isn't the same and neither is Derek now that they have this power at their fingertips," Phasmi said angrily. "They might have their moments, but this is fucking stupid."

Liam laughed and shrugged when everyone glared at him except Darren. "I just think it's really obvious that Graceland women don't like it when their mates act like real men."

"Isaac isn't my mate," Phasmi told him.

"Besides, I think you have a really skewed view of real men," Charlotte replied shaking her head.

_Charlotte had been dreading this moment since stopping the little demonstration but she felt like it was needed after Caroline called her in a panic about Erica hitting Stiles with part of his own car. It made her feel even more like she had to do this and she just waltzed right into Derek's little abandoned place he was training them all in, Erica smirking as Boyd looked at her and Isaac stayed where he was. He knew she was here to talk to Derek in the abandoned little car of a subway, and when she went for Erica that surprised him._

_"Hitting my cousin with metal objects is the wrong move," Charlotte told her, Erica standing up to get in her face and match her, glare for glare._

_Erica smiled and shrugged. "He's fine, isn't he? I just needed him knocked out."_

_"Well, my family members aren't objects for you to harm," Charlotte explained as she growled at the young woman. "On top of that, you so much as step out of line with me and I'll remind you just how much strength an Alpha has."_

_"You can't possibly be insecure enough to think I'm going to take Derek from you…" Erica said in that voice of hers that made you know you were being put down. "I mean, you're an Alpha and the bite's been very nice to you. All powerful and beautiful and already with your scent drenching him."_

_"Newsflash—I was born a wolf," Charlotte responded, cutting her off. "I will rip you to shreds if you make me. Same goes for you, Boyd."_

_She looked at him before Derek took her hand, Charlotte letting him drag her into the out of order subway car without taking her eyes off of the Betas. Derek could tell that she was upset and yet he wasn't aware of the half of it because Charlotte was in a mood and that meant that she was about to give Derek an earful. So instead of letting her start off the conversation, Derek decided that he was going to go ahead and start it off instead._

_"Stiles is going to be fine," Derek assured her nodding._

_Charlotte looked at him suddenly and pushed on his chest with the palm of her hand. "I'm just as mad at you as I am at your pack! Are you aware of the fact that your little stunt is going to push Scott away and with him, Caroline? You're not thinking clearly because you're letting all of this power go to your head!"_

_"Charlotte, Scott was trying to get in my way—I was never going to kill him," Derek admitted with a sigh. "If anything, I was trying to show him just how much stronger a pack is."_

_"He's not going to join you," Charlotte scoffed, sliding her fingers into her hair exasperatedly. "God, Derek, this is getting out of hand. Not that you can't have a pack, because you can, but you can't attack Scott just to make a point and Erica can't just go around hurting my family members. You either get them under control, or I'm going to Phasmi's plan and you guys are on your own."_

_Derek swallowed, feeling his mouth go dry. "You'd actually do that?"_

_"Get them in line," Charlotte told him, pain in her eyes. "Because if I actually feel like I can trust Liam and Darren over you, we have a serious problem."_

Charlotte had regretted the words as they fell from her lips, but she needed Derek to focus on actually training his pack right now. She wanted to be near him more than anything and maybe seeing how hot Erica was now made her want to mark Derek as her mate again, but she knew that would be for the wrong reasons and had instead just kept her distance a little bit. The two of them needed to put things in perspective this time because so many times they let other things get in the way.

_Derek approached Charlotte, who was drinking and watching as the party was happening, Caroline's and Eric's idea to get past the Full Moon fiasco. Charlotte didn't even seem to be her disapproving 'momma wolf' self, she was just overseeing, but the disposition? Not how he'd left her that morning and so Derek stood next to her as the music thumped and the teenagers danced about._

_"You seem far less sated than this morning," Derek teased before looking around. "This is how you manage a pack now."_

_Charlotte tensed up and pursed her lips together. "I don't really appreciate you saying things about my pack with that tone of voice just because I neglected to tell you I made a pack and you're upset."_

_"I'm more than upset, but I did turn you down to be in a potential pack," Derek admitted with a smirk. "Eric hit on you yet?"_

_"You might be over what we went through before, but I'm not. This is not the old pack and you're a bit old to be at a High School party, aren't you?" Charlotte asked him even though she knew what was coming next._

_"So are you—that's why we're the chaperones and don't kill your sister…I made her let me help so I could be near you." Derek told her and then took a breath. "Want to find a room upstairs? It might make you more relaxed…"_

_Charlotte shot him a look he hadn't seen in a while and rolled her eyes, but the slight smirk that appeared on her face at the suggestion was worth it to him._

Phasmi wasn't surprised when Charlotte left the room, following her sister and sighing as she saw her pour herself some coffee so she could think. Coffee was _also_ one of Charlotte's weaknesses and even though she smiled at her sister, Phasmi could tell that the smile was sad and that Charlotte had quite a bit on her mind. This whole thing was getting really out of control and it was up to them to lead the pack and protect who they could.

"Scott doesn't trust you, does he?" Phasmi asked Charlotte slowly.

Charlotte smiled a little. "He never did, Phazzles…he was just happy I saved Care."

"Well, then we make sure that something else happens," Phasmi said nodding, looking out at Caroline and Eric, who were trying to make small talk with Liam and Darren. "You see, Liam and Darren were missing for a little bit last full moon and while you look into that, I think that Caroline and Eric can help on the Scott front while I try to get Isaac back."

"What do you mean? I thought you wanted to just ignore it," Charlotte told her sister, a little confused.

"I would definitely like to avoid the problem, but this is about the pack right?" Phasmi asked, nodding when Charlotte shrugged and then nodded in agreement. "Alright, then I get my Isaac back and I have Caroline get Eric to help her to see if we can't get Artemis on our side. Caroline says that Scott's mentioned her a bit and I don't know about you, but…I think she knows more than she's let on."


	24. Three Little Words

**There is a death this chapter**

"What I want is to see the body," Melody told Charlotte as Charlotte explained what Deaton had found on a body on the full moon.

The body had been paralyzed and slashed and it seemed that instead of eating its prey like the majority of predators like that, it just killed them. It was dangerous and Melody wanted to see it, but Charlotte wanted to know what her mother intended to do about it exactly. Then again, there were things that Melody knew that Charlotte didn't and because of that, she knew that she needed to just go ahead and let this play out because she had more pressing matters to attend to: she had to figure out where Liam and Darren went to during the full moon.

They were going to go and get Isaac and Liam and Darren had opted to stay behind, but Melody had said they had taken off and Charlotte was upset about it. She wanted more than anything to know what was going on here and how to fix it, and she knew that she needed help from the one person she was most mad at right now…Derek. Taking a deep breath, Charlotte asked her mother to tell her what she found out from Deaton and then she went to go and see Derek, who was training Isaac, Boyd and Erica, so she sat down and watched them.

Derek was aware that she was there, but he was training his pack.

There were obstacles set up and the plan was for them to use their skills all together and try to take him down, but Boyd wasn't participating and Erica and Isaac were certainly failing. Then when Derek asked for some unpredictability, Erica practically jumped Derek, which made Charlotte rise and Boyd shrink back a little bit. He certainly didn't want to make an Alpha mad or get in the way of an Alpha trying to hurt someone, but Derek threw Erica off and wiped off his mouth like he was disgusted.

"You, don't do that again," Derek told Erica firmly.

Charlotte nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it's a pretty good way to get ripped to shreds."

"Are we done?" Isaac asked as everyone looked at Charlotte and things began to feel a little awkward. "I've got a few hundred bones that need a little time to heal."

Derek made a face like he cared and walked over to him, offering up his hand like he was going to help him up, but instead he broke Isaac's arm when he reacted.

"One hundred and one," Derek said, looking Isaac in the eye. "You think I'm teaching you how to fight, huh? LOOK AT ME! I'm teaching you…how to _survive_!"

"As far as I know, Charlotte's sessions don't end with breaking bones!" Isaac countered, sitting up as Boyd stood up and Charlotte descended the stairs a little bit. "And what about the hunters? If they know, then why aren't they coming for us now? What are they waiting for?"

"I don't know," Derek said honestly, "but they are planning something and that's not our only problem. The thing that killed Isaac's father? I think it killed someone else last night, so I have to teach you everything I know…as fast as I can teach you…"

With that, Derek went towards the subway car and Charlotte took a deep breath, looking over Isaac's arm and chewing on her lip. She couldn't be the one to get in the middle of Derek's bond with his pack and so she decided to at least give them truth they could somewhat appreciate. Sure, she didn't break anyone's bones, but Derek was more of a hands on Alpha than she was, and she understood that he was freaking out a bit—this was his first shot and he didn't want to blow it like she had…like they _both_ had with the other pack.

"You haven't had as much as time as my pack to get things under control," Charlotte told the three as she stood up to go for Derek. "He's teaching you the way he thinks will train you fastest."

Climbing into the subway car, Charlotte found Derek sitting on one of the benches, taking a deep breath as she sat down next to him. He was aware that she was upset and he knew why, but he also knew she wouldn't be here unless she had a reason and it wasn't just to see him. No, Charlotte was on a mission and he knew that look on her face well, so he told himself that he was going to make sure that she got what she wanted so he could go back to training.

"My mother is going to look over the body at Deaton's before the hunters claim it," Charlotte explained to him. "She wants to know what we're up against as much as we do. On top of that, I need your help because…because regardless of you and Liam having problems with each other, you know them better than I do and they were missing in action last night."

Derek looked at her and his eyes widened. "Do you think they killed Isaac's father and that hunter?"

"No…I would be able to smell the blood on their hands," Charlotte told him shaking her head. "I think even you would too, and Isaac. I just think that they're up to something because they refused to come last night and then they weren't there. I have most of my Alpha senses honed, you know…"

"I'm only being harsh because I care," Derek said as he took a deep breath. "They have to be prepared…they don't have you and Phasmi to help them."

"Sure they do," Charlotte explained as she reached out and touched his hand. "Your pack is _always_ going to have my pack. Still, I can't help but feel like maybe you should have a different mate."

Derek looked at her, a look in her eyes she hadn't seen in a really long time and he shook his head as she took a deep breath and then looked at her feet. She didn't really want to have this conversation, but the words had already spilled out of her mouth because things like that happened to her. Sometimes she said things that she didn't want to say but right now she was feeling pretty unsure about everything and that included her relationship with Derek—it was right up there with her feeling like she had no place being an Alpha because she kept screwing things up.

"I don't want a different mate," Derek told her shaking his head. "I want you."

Charlotte smiled and looked at him. "My mother told me that this mate bond was already a little more intense than normal because we didn't know how to handle it. If we do it now when we're both Alphas, then it'll be even more intense and we can't handle that."

"You didn't hear me though, Charlee…I don't want a new one."

"We rushed into this, Derek! If we even did this, this bond between us would be more intense if we go through with it and you deserve better than that!"

"Charlee…stop…"

"No! I can't even handle you having a hot blonde in your pack; I can't have heightened Alpha mate emotions too!"

Charlotte stood up when she said it, Derek standing up too and getting in between her and the way out of the abandoned subway car. She didn't want to have this confrontation, but when Derek's lips collided with hers, she sighed contentedly and nodded gently, kissing him back because being near him made her happy and vice versa. Derek didn't want to lose her and something about her being jealous of Erica made him a bit happy, wrapping his arms around Charlotte and keeping her close.

"I didn't think that you thought Isaac was hot—Phasmi will kill you," Derek teased as he nipped at her bottom lip.

Charlotte laughed and slipped her fingers into his hair. "You made a joke."

"I _do_ make jokes," Derek said before kissing her again. "I am not going to push you into remarking, but I want you to know that it's just you. Why are you so upset about Erica?"

"It's not even about her, it's about everything. I mean, we were close, and then we weren't and then Kate and then we were rocky and then we were separated and then we came back together and you finally fell in love with me and then we were mates and then the pack fiasco and then you left me by myself and I just…we can't do this. The remarking. I mean look at how turbulent things still are with us, Derek…" Charlotte told him quickly.

Derek was used to this kind of ramble from Charlotte, but he had gotten stuck at the words, "fallen in love with me" and he knew that it was true, but he didn't know what to do here. Charlotte knew what she had said as well and silence fell between them, Derek sighing gently and tucking her hair behind her ear, looking her over before looking her in the eye. It seemed to him that she had always loved him and was just afraid to say anything because she thought he didn't love her and that was ridiculous—he loved her more than anything. Still, as he opened up his mouth to speak, she beat him to it.

"You know why I'm so upset about it all? Do you know why I'm rambling so much?" Charlotte asked Derek suddenly. "Because I—"

"—Darren's here," Isaac said, interrupting the two before Charlotte could confess. "He needs you…"

xx

Artemis was more than met the eye.

Sure, she wasn't entirely aware of everything that was going on or why, but she was incredibly smart and when it came to figuring things out she was almost the queen of it. She had known the McCalls and everyone else in Beacon Hills at one point or another in her life and she knew that Scott couldn't _suddenly_ be a great athlete. Not to mention, strange things had been going on since before she'd made this transfer and Scott's yellow eyes had made her start to question _everything_ —so she'd started digging and what she found had her feeling anxious.

First of all, it didn't entirely surprise her that werewolves were a thing because she'd seen stranger, but that meant there was an Alpha around here. It meant that there was a pack somewhere more than likely and that meant that full moons were a big no-no where going outside was concerned because she quite liked being alive…and _human_. There was no allure for her, to get 'the bite', and she certainly wasn't sure how to look at Scott anymore because crush or no crush, he got fangs and claws when he got mad—and unnecessarily hairy. No, Artemis didn't want any part in the danger…except that then she had just gotten more and more curious.

So, she started trying to figure out any kind of patterns with anyone, and realized that Scott, while he hung out with Stiles a lot, tended to find himself in situations with Derek Hale and Charlotte Graceland, not to mention his sister hung out with Charlotte all the time when she wasn't with Eric it seemed, and if Scott was a werewolf, then it only made sense that Caroline be one too. Did that mean that Charlotte was the Alpha though? The only way to figure _that_ out, would be to get an honest answer from her cousin and that meant cornering Stiles Stilinksi…piece of cake.

"Hey, Stilinski," Artemis said as she stopped by his locker.

Stiles smiled at her. "Artemis…that's right, you go here now."

"I do, and we need to talk about Scott being a werewolf," she told him, jumping right to the point.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Stiles said as he covered her mouth. "You can't just go blurting those kinds of things out. People will think you are as crazy as you sound."

Artemis pushed his hand away. "I'm not crazy though, I'm entirely serious."

Knowing he needed to get down to the bottom of this, Stiles grabbed her hand and dragged her toward the stairs, Scott sitting there waiting for him. Scott raised his eyebrows as the two approached, not knowing what to make of it all because he'd been feeling torn since the full moon before last. Artemis made something animalistic inside of him come alive and he wasn't sure what it meant, but Stiles bringing her over had to mean something even if it wasn't connected to her wolf 'urges'.

"She knows," Stiles said as Scott opened up his mouth to speak and Scott's eyes widened. "Yeah, exactly. She knows and we both know her well enough to know that we should have seen it coming."

Artemis laughed a little bit. "Yeah, I've been figuring things out since preschool faster than you two. So who is the Alpha? Is it Charlotte?"

"What even tipped you off?" Scott asked her in a hushed tone.

"Your eyes were yellow that full moon you blew me off in the hallway," Artemis admitted as she shrugged, "I've been a little obsessed ever since. It was weird and I wanted to know what was going on."

"Like second grade when you came to visit and just _had_ to figure out how I did that magic trick," Stiles said a little annoyed.

Artemis looked at him. "Actually, I knew about the magic trick, I was just trying to annoy you."

"Well it worked," Stiles admitted as he smiled.

He was about to say something else when Eric and Caroline approached, Artemis catching that look in Stiles' eyes at the two. Right now he had Caroline, who though annoyed about the full moon wanted to be his public girlfriend, but Eric still made him jealous because he was attractive, a wolf, and got to see more of Caroline these days than Stiles did. So seeing them come up and then seeing Caroline stand next to her brother instead of him, made Stiles frown and Artemis understood the jealousy with a twinge of anger—it was what had been happening to her lately every time she caught Scott looking at Allison…a feeling she wanted to bury.

She was a teenager and she didn't want her life to be about relationships and boys, but something about Scott McCall had her unfocused and it bothered her. Artemis wanted to just go about life as normal, but now she knew that he was a wolf and that meant that she was going to never have a normal life again because something big was happening and she wanted to be part of it. She had some training. In fact, there were things about Artemis Mahealani that no one knew just yet and she was hoping to keep it all a secret for as long as possible, which might be harder now that they knew that she knew because _someone_ would try to look her up, she was sure of it.

"We heard," Caroline said, not wanting to beat around the bush either. "So what do you want?"

Artemis nodded, now knowing Caroline was a wolf too. "I want to help. I assume you guys haven't been killing people…right?"

"Right, we're not killers," Scott assured her, looking her in the eye. "How do you think you can help?"

"Just because I'm human doesn't mean I'm without skills," Artemis said as she caught Caroline taking Stiles' hand out of the corner of her eye. "Besides, anything to protect Danny."

"Why would you think Danny was in trouble?" Stiles asked Artemis as he stroked Caroline's hand with his thumb.

Artemis looked at him. "There are werewolves running around… _everyone_ is in trouble."

xx

Charlotte was a little bit grateful for Darren's interruption because it meant she didn't have to tell Derek that she loved him first, but at the same time she was a little annoyed. It was getting harder and harder to keep her feelings to herself and something told her that if she had to try this hard to do that than maybe she was in the wrong relationship. Besides, she and Derek had too hard of a time talking out feelings and that meant that they were both holding back and holding each other back…maybe Peter had been right. Maybe in all of this, she and Derek were just too broken to fit together like she thought that they did—maybe they weren't the soul mates or the puzzle pieces that she thought that they were.

When Darren had come to tell her that something was wrong, she thought that maybe he was going to tell her the pack was in trouble, but instead he told her that he was feeling a bit guilty. He and Liam had been up to something during the full moon and he had told her that it had to do with hunters and it made her mad enough that she went to go and get some air, but Darren had instead gotten in his car to head out. As much as he wanted to be part of an overly full pack and take advantage of all of this power, he didn't want to hurt Charlotte because she had helped him out so much and he felt like he owed her even though he _did_ kind of want to be able to have all of this power alone. Unfortunately for him, the hunters spotted him at the gas station and knocked him out, taking him into the woods and stringing him up, Darren waking up to see Gerard there.

"You look like that wolf we ran into earlier," Gerard said with a smile on his face. "I'd let you try and argue that you're not, but I have it on good authority that you are. Out and around without your Alpha though…not a very good idea…"

Darren tried to struggle, but he was bound tight. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"All you have to do is give up your Alpha," Gerard told him slowly, "and I'll let you go."

"I'm not doing anything you want me to do because you currently have me tied up here against my will for absolutely no good reason," Darren tried, struggling again. "Come on…what do you want?"

"DON'T PLAY GAMES WITH ME!" Gerard said angrily, cutting across Darren's abdomen with a sword. "Now…tell me who your Alpha is…and I will let you go…"

Darren laughed and shook his head, wincing a little bit. "You wouldn't let me go. You'd just kill me and then go after whomever I told you that it was."

"I already have a good idea, I just need your affirmation," Gerard explained with a shrug, slicing again. "It's a woman and considering the Gracelands are back in town…just might be that little Charlotte found herself a way to become stronger and that means she needs to be put down like the dog that she is."

Even though he wasn't entirely sure what was going on here, Darren had a feeling that he'd been caught and that mean he'd either die a traitor, or he'd die loyal to the end to his Alpha—he was choosing the latter. He had no idea just how far back the history of the Gracelands and the Argents went, but he had a pretty good idea that he would never know because these were his last moments and he was going to have to use them well. It also bothered him that he was going to die and Charlotte wasn't even going to know that there was a traitor in her midst.

_"You have got to be kidding me," Darren said as he took a deep breath. "We can't trust hunters."_

_Liam laughed and rolled his eyes. "You underestimate them. Give them enough wolves for the slaughter and they'll think of you as an ally and not prey."_

_"We can't just slaughter our own kind, Liam," Darren explained, shaking his head. "I won't be a part of it. Besides, I already faced Gerard and Charlotte had to save my life. We made a mockery of her pack and **abandoned** her, and she still **saved my life**. She's our Alpha…she deserves our loyalty."_

_"I'm not saying turning on our pack," Liam told Darren rolling his eyes again. "That detracts from our power and you know it. I'm suggesting—"_

_"—turning on Derek and making it look like we're just protecting everyone," Darren finished for him._

_By now, Darren knew just how Liam thought, but he also knew how Charlotte thought and turning on Derek was exactly the same to her as turning on her, if not worse. Charlotte Graceland could handle being turned on and she was even strong enough to hold her head up high about it, but if you hurt her mate she would destroy you. It had always been like that. Darren could remember meeting Charlotte and Derek and feeling a bit envious of the love between them and even didn't mind leaving with Liam because he knew the two would have each other at least, but this was madness. Pissing off Charlotte was the **last** thing that Darren wanted to do._

_"You're trying to get us killed aren't you?" Darren asked as he drank some water. "We can't just hand over Derek and call it good."_

_Liam took a deep breath. "Then I challenge Charlotte, I win, we create our own pack and we let the Argents have them so it buys us enough time to get out of here."_

_"Liam…I won't betray Charlotte," Darren explained to him._

Thinking on it now, Darren wished he'd brought that up with Charlotte earlier, but clearing his conscience at the time just meant admitting to her that he'd conversed with a hunter or two. He was looking out for Liam and making sure Liam didn't say anything incriminating, but it was obvious that Liam had been making dealings without him. Now, Gerard was tying up a loose end and Liam wasn't about to go out a traitor and he hoped that should Liam challenge Charlotte, she kicked his ass and made him pay for this…Darren had been trusting the wrong person all this time.

"I'll take this to my grave," Darren told Gerard, closing his eyes. "I'm not a traitor."

Gerard nodded and brought the sword up. "I do believe that was the wrong choice..."

xx

"Something is wrong," Charlotte said as she stood up.

She had gone back to find Derek, the pack out getting ready for the lacrosse game that night and she knew that Isaac was probably trying to at least win Phasmi back officially, Boyd and Erica doing something to pass the time and Charlotte always found herself finding her way back to Derek no matter what was going on. Sometimes she was pretty sure that should they just get past this, they could get through anything that the future had in store for them. Now though, in the middle of telling Derek she was pretty sure she couldn't trust Darren or Liam at all, she felt like something was amiss…she felt momentarily sad and weak.

"I have to go," she said abruptly, heading out of the abandoned subway car.

Derek stood up and followed after her. "What's wrong, Charlee?"

"Someone's in trouble," Charlotte admitted, taking out her cell phone as she headed outside. "Maybe I'm over-reacting, but I just feel like my pack is in trouble."

"Well, you're very honed in on what it means to be an Alpha," Derek told her, wishing that he was the same way, but he just wasn't connected to his pack the way that Charlotte was connected to hers.

Charlotte smiled a little at him and called up Caroline, getting her and hearing Stiles in the background, so then she called Eric, who was getting ready to go and see if he couldn't sit by Lydia at the game and Phasmi was with Isaac and she was alright…so she tried Darren. Darren wasn't picking up his phone, so she hung up and tried again for good measure, calling Liam and getting his answering machine. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and tried to hone in on Darren's smell, Derek running his fingertips along her back to try and slow his mate's rapid heartbeat: she was upset.

Once she caught a light scent, Charlotte took off toward the woods, Derek following behind her because he wanted more than ever to be by her side. She was feeling for her pack and feeling like something was terribly wrong and he wanted to be there for her no matter what as well as try and understand how she did that so that he could too. What neither of them expected to smell, however, as the scent got stronger…was _blood_. At first Charlotte smelled it, but then Derek felt like his nostrils were almost being assaulted by the smell and he wasn't quite sure what to do, but he knew the blood was Darren's—no doubt about it.

Charlotte suddenly started to feel sick to her stomach, feeling like maybe this was some kind of track, but the twisted gasping scream that came out of her mouth when she found Darren's body was enough to made Derek feel like he'd been punched in the stomach. Their mate bond wasn't even as strong as it used to be, but he could almost feel Charlotte's pain as she let out an agonizing scream, heading to the body that was clearly cleaved in two and collapsing on her knees. Tears splashed onto her cheeks and she started to chant 'no' over and over again, pushing Derek away as he went to touch her to try and calm her down.

She and Darren might not have been getting along, but he was still one of her Betas.

Even knowing he was dead, Charlotte reached out to touch him, trying to process what was right in front of her, knowing Gerard's handiwork already since he'd rolled into town. Honestly, she didn't know what he knew now, but she knew that Darren was dead and that Liam wasn't answering either, more tears coming as she sobbed, looking at her blood covered hands, reaching up to close Darren's eyes. She tried pushing on Derek again when he went to take her in his arms and pull her away from the body, worried about her loud cries and wanting to get her out of here. It didn't seem like a trap, but Derek knew that a hunter could come out from anywhere just to get to her…Gerard seemed to want to hurt her.

"This is all my fault!" Charlotte said angrily as she pushed on him again, feeling him pull her up. "Tell me I didn't do this! Derek…tell me I didn't get him killed…"

Derek pulled her to him. "You didn't, Charlee…shhh…he and Liam were in over their heads."

"WHAT IF LIAM IS DEAD TOO?!" Charlotte exclaimed, breaking down again and pushing on Derek's chest. "I can't do this…I'm a terrible Alpha! I got them both killed!"

"I'm sure Liam is just fine, wreaking havoc elsewhere," Derek tried to calm her down with the words, but she pushed on him harder this time, shaking her head. "Charlee…"

"Why are you so against him? Why are you so insecure about it? I didn't leave you then and I'm not leaving you now, but he's my pack!" Charlotte yelled at him, trying to wipe her eyes with the back of her wrist. "He used to be part of _our_ pack. So why are you so adamant to believe that he's still just as bad as he always was?!"

"BECAUSE I LOVE YOU!" Derek snapped at her.


	25. So Many Enemies

"BECAUSE I LOVE YOU!" Derek snapped at her.

Everything was happening so fast and Charlotte was clearly upset about more than just Darren's death and her thought to be failure as an Alpha…she was mad at Derek. All this time she had showed him over and over and over again just how much she loved him and how she was always there for him no matter what, and Derek had just let it happen. He had been pushing to be her mate again, but he hadn't even let her know just how much she meant to him until now. They weren't good with the feelings, but they were going to need to get better at it if Derek ever hoped to have his mate back completely and that was definitely what he wanted.

"I KNOW!" Charlotte snapped back, but it was obvious that she had expected him to say something else and she froze, her eyes showing realization as his words settled in. "Wait…what?"

Instead of saying it again, Derek went for her, hands reaching out to cup her face and bring her against him, lips colliding. This wasn't the time or the place to do this, but Derek needed to calm Charlotte down and saying it seemed to bring him some serenity that he had been missing all of these years. It was out there and now Charlotte was kissing him even though she wouldn't touch him with her bloody hands, and now she was crying for a whole other reason: he loved her and he'd said it out loud.

"We need to go, Charlee," Derek explained, as he pulled back, looking her in the eye. "Come on…Gerard is going to be at the game and we need to know what he knows. We need to figure out—"

"—Caroline says that there is a bestiary, but my mother is taking care of it," Charlotte told him, moving to collect Darren's body and then move with Derek back to her place. "Still, just in case it shows again, it would be a good idea to be at the school."

Derek smiled, glad she was moving, following her back to her house, helping Charlotte to bury Darren before he followed her into her bathroom, both of them taking off their clothes to burn them, Charlotte turning on the shower and climbing in, scrubbing at herself and her hands, Derek climbing in with her. He saw the look on her face before she started to cry again, reaching out to wipe way her tears before she leaned up to kiss him, pulling back to look him in the eye as the water hit her back. She smiled and stroked his stubble, making sure he was looking her in the eye before she told him the one thing she had realized she hadn't even said back.

"I love you more than anything," Charlotte admitted slowly.

He hadn't realized how much he'd needed to hear her say that, and suddenly things felt…good. She was going to be upset about this death for a long time, but she also had Derek with her through it all and that meant that she was going to be able to handle this somehow. So she just kissed him for a little bit before they got cleaned up as best as they could, going to get dressed and burning the clothes so that no one would find them. There was something else going on here and they needed to know what was going on and what this killer was…how did they do this?

"I want to have a night with you," Charlotte said as she tucked some hair behind her ears and smiled sadly at Derek, her eyes a little puffy and red. "Just you and me making up for all this time that we've lost and maybe finding a way to get our packs to get along, you know? 9 wolves are better than 4…especially with a killer on the loose."

Derek nodded and sat down next to her. "No wonder the Argents are declaring war, we practically have an army right now."

"They're declaring war because I killed Kate," Charlotte told him, looking at her hands in her lap as he stroked her hair. "This is all my fault—Darren is dead because of me."

"Darren is dead because Gerard hunted him," Derek replied shaking his head. "Hey…baby, _please_ stop beating yourself up over this. I know it feels bad right now, but you just need to focus on making sure that we are one step ahead of him at all times. You're not…thinking about revenge are you?"

"Right now, no?" Charlotte admitted before looking at Derek. "In the long run? Yes. He killed a member of my pack in cold blood and I'm going to make this right. I don't care that Darren joined us for power. His blood was the only blood out there and Gerard cleaved him in half just like that Omega—strung him up, cut into him, and then he took him apart and I couldn't save him."

Derek nodded and rested his forehead against her as she started to cry again. "He probably wanted to know who you are…wanted to know the female Alpha's name. He's probably actually onto you because I mean, Chris knows about you. He knows about your mother and your sister and your father. What if…what if Gerard just wanted to know for sure?"

"Darren wouldn't have told him," Charlotte said suddenly as she stood up.

She didn't want to believe that Darren would betray her, even if faced with his own death, but at the same time she didn't know. For all she knew, Gerard was mobilizing to take out her pack just to make her suffer before he killed her, but then again…maybe this was bigger than that and bigger than she knew. All she knew was that she needed to get to the school for the game and check on her pack right now and she didn't want to go unless Derek did.

Phasmi was going to be with Isaac, close but out of sight because he was still wanted for his father's death, and Boyd and Erica would be watching with Eric, who was hoping to make a move on Lydia. Caroline was going because even though Stiles was on the bench, she wanted to be supportive and Artemis was going to be there watching Scott play because something else was going on there and no one knew what it was yet. Maybe Derek was right: Charlotte needed to get her head in the game and for that she needed to focus on what was happening right now.

"I'll text Mom and see where she is with the bestiary, and we need to head to the school," Charlotte told Derek as she went for her jacket, Derek nodding and wondering just how long this façade of being all right was going to last for his mate.

xx

"So, this is how Scott got good at this?" Artemis asked Caroline as they settled onto the benches that night on the lacrosse field.

Caroline laughed as she looked at Stiles. "Yeah, it was a surprise to everyone and then in waltzed Charlotte, who put it all into perfect perspective for me."

"When she saved your life," Artemis said, nodding when Caroline did.

They had all been helping Artemis to fill in the blanks that she had in her own theories and research, Artemis even having figured out the hunter thing, which had everyone a little nervous. She was Danny's cousin and so she was here to watch him as well as Scott, but being Danny's cousin meant that there was no reason why she should know any of this since Danny didn't…or at least they didn't think that he did. Now here was Artemis and it was quite obvious that if she could figure it all out, then anyone could and that was a little more than they could handle.

"That guy is huge," Artemis said, cringing when a guy from the opposing team ran into one of the Beacon Hills players. "Ouch! That looks like it smarted a bit. Why isn't Scott…?"

Caroline looked at Gerard sitting with Allison and Artemis followed her gaze. "Because he is the head hunter and Scott needs to not draw attention to himself."

"Fair point," Artemis agreed, seeing Boyd and Erica behind the two and then realizing that Eric was nowhere to be seen. "Hey…where's Eric?"

Eric Haynes had been into Lydia Martin for years, but no one had anything on Stiles. While Eric had had a thing for Lydia, his crush on Caroline had been far more and so he'd always kind of left Lydia on the back burner no matter how attracted to her, which made him feel a little bad and he wanted to make it up to her. Besides, she'd been pretty messed up since Peter had bitten her and she'd been immune to the bite, and he found her crying in her car as he and Stiles moved toward the school. They'd gotten Gerard's key from Allison to go and see if they couldn't get the bestiary, on the same page as Melody was…Eric went to Lydia, however, Stiles pausing a moment, and then continuing into the school.

"Hey, Lydia what's wrong?" Eric tried, Lydia looking at him and shaking her head, rolling up her car window. "Hey, Lydia…"

Lydia shook her head. "Just go away!"

"No, Lydia, hey…I'm here," Eric explained with a shrug. "Come on, why won't you talk to me?"

"I don't need anyone to see me cry!" Lydia exclaimed shaking her head.

Eric smiled a little and nodded at her. "Lydia…you have every right to be upset about everything that has happened to you, but me seeing you cry? It's okay."

"Oh, yeah? How do you figure?" Lydia asked him rolling her eyes as she sniffled.

"I think you're strong for holding it together as long as you have, Beautiful," Eric admitted with a shrug. "No matter what happens, I'm here for you."

Lydia thought about it a moment and nodded, rolling down the window and looking at Eric as he rested his arms on the window sill and smiled at her a little bit. She was clearly upset and psychologically something was terribly wrong, but more than anything he just wanted to see her smile and she needed to unload to someone. Stiles was inside the school looking for the bestiary and this was the perfect time to try and get Lydia to see that he cared about her…because he honestly did.

"You're going to think I'm crazy," Lydia told him sniffling, looking like she was going to cry some more.

Eric shook his head. "Actually…there is nothing you could say that would make me think that you were crazy at all."

Lydia smiled a little and after a few more tears were shed, she started to talk to him and when he reached out to stroke her hair, she flinched a little bit, but in the end she let him stroke her hair. She was seeing Peter places and Eric told her that he thought that she was completely sane and he'd look into it, but he had to run off because Stiles wasn't back yet and that could only really mean one thing: Stiles had gotten himself caught. So, he hurried toward the school just in time to see Erica carting Stiles off and so Eric followed them to the pool…

Derek and Charlotte were there arguing and like mother like daughter.

Chris wasn't the happiest to see Melody standing there on his door step, but he let her come in, his wife in the kitchen doing some dishes. They had opted to stay away from the game, knowing Allison could handle her grandfather just fine and distract him enough from Scott so he wouldn't get hurt, but having Melody Graceland here right now just wasn't a good idea. She was a werewolf and they all knew that, but they wouldn't hurt her—she hadn't been there when Kate had died and Gerard wasn't after her, he was after Charlotte, who was clearly with Derek Hale and that made her a problem.

"Bestiary," Melody said as Chris closed the door behind her.

He smiled and laughed. "Oh, how very to the point, Mel…"

"I have places to be and children to protect," Melody explained to him. "I just need to take a look at yours because mine is en route as we speak and I need to see it. The body? I assume you've seen it."

"Yes, with Gerard and the others," Chris admitted nodding. "We don't even really know what it is, though and I think that—"

"—come on, Chris," Melody said as she shook her head, "you and Gerard know more than you're letting on. Deaton told you the same things that he told me."

Chris scoffed at that. "Actually, that's highly doubtful."

"I have a better bedside manner," Melody shrugged as she looked Chris in the eye.

It was hard for both of them to be in this place when they used to be so close and yet they were no longer the best friends that they had once been—they were enemies. Melody was what Chris hunted and she had to protect her children from him and it really hurt her that things had made it to this place because she actually missed him, but right now this was about a killer and she had to make sure that she helped Charlotte to get this all taken care of…especially before her father showed up. It was all going to get hard enough when Matthew Graceland showed up after all of this time and tried to take things into his own hands.

"We all need to work together on this—for the sake of everyone," Chris explained slowly. "I will be in contact with you about the bestiary."

Melody nodded, seeing the look in his eyes. "Alright…that's good enough, but only for now, Chris."

"Saving my life only gets you so many favors, Mel," Chris reminded her as she opened up the door to leave since he didn't have the bestiary on him at the moment.

"I'll take my chances because you're using my nickname," Melody replied as she headed down the front steps to her car, a swiped USB drive in her hand.

xx

Things at the game had looked like they were taking a turn for the worse because Scott wouldn't use his wolf abilities, but then Boyd became part of the team temporarily because he wanted people to cheer for him, and it was then that Caroline and Artemis felt like something else was going on—they were right. Stiles had been dragged by his ear to the pool, seeing Derek and Charlotte arguing there about how to handle this all. It wasn't odd for everyone else to see them arguing, but after telling each other those three little words, they hadn't expected to be arguing already.

"You can't just interrogate Stiles!" Charlotte exclaimed, growling at Derek. "He's not the only one that has seen this thing."

Derek nodded, seemingly calm, "Perhaps, but has Scott come to us?"

"After you beat him up, do you really think he's going to just come to you?" Charlotte asked Derek shaking her head. "Erica, unhand my cousin!"

"Touchy, touchy," Erica responded, letting Stiles go.

"Stiles, what did you see at the mechanic's garage?" Derek asked Stiles as he looked away from Charlotte, wincing when she pinched him rather hard in the arm.

Stiles smirked a little at his cousin. "Uh, several alarming EPA violations that I'm seriously considering reporting."

Derek smiled as Erica laughed, Derek pressing on the basketball he was holding in his hand and deflating it, Charlotte smacking him hard in the arm. That made him turn to her and she gave him a very stern look, Stiles laughing a little to himself because it was obvious that Charlotte wore the pants here and if she was pinching Derek, then she was getting upset about him trying to take away her control. She really liked her control and now that Derek was an Alpha and could fight back better, she felt like she was slipping and Stiles didn't even know about Darren's death…no one but Derek did and for the moment Charlotte was going to keep it that way.

"Do you _really_ think that intimidating my cousin is going to make me very happy?" Charlotte asked.

"It might just piss her off," Eric suggested with a shrug.

Erica smiled at her. "I think at the moment Derek's the Alpha in charge."

"Derek is _never_ the Alpha in charge," Charlotte shot at her, looking at Derek and sighing. "That's not what I meant, I just…"

"I know," Derek assured her, taking a deep breath. "We still need to know what he saw."

Charlotte sighed and looked at Stiles. "Caroline said that Scott said his eyes were kind of slitted…"

"Yeah, like a reptile," Stiles admitted nodding. "I was pretty sure that I saw scales when I saw it and it's big…with a tail."

"A tail that can slice and paralyze…" Charlotte agreed nodding, looking up suddenly.

Up above them the creature was crawling up the observation deck of the pool and looking at them as Stiles rambled on about lots of teeth and giant lizards. It made Charlotte reach out to him, the creature snarling as Stiles realized it was here and Charlotte pushed him behind her, she and Derek growling and roaring at the beast as it jumped down and hit Erica, throwing her against the wall. Eric, seeing a woman in distress, went at the beast as Charlotte yelled at him to stop, the beast knocking him out as well.

"Run!" Derek said, pushing at Stiles and Charlotte, the creature's tail slicing at his neck.

Charlotte let her claws come out. "I'm not leaving you! Stiles, run!"

"I'm not leaving _you_!" Stiles said as Charlotte went to catch Derek as his body fell towards the ground.

He was now paralyzed and Charlotte had to save him, wishing Stiles would leave so he wasn't in trouble here too, but instead she told him to call Phasmi, Scott and Caroline. It would be nice to have the whole pack and she didn't trust Liam even though she could use his help, fishing out her phone to call Phasmi as Stiles took Derek from her, all three of them moving to the other side of the pool, but as Stiles got his phone out, he dropped it and in going for it he let go of Derek, who slipped into the pool.

"Pool, now," Charlotte said quickly to her sister, before dropping her phone and diving in after Derek.

Stiles made a face and grabbed his phone. "Sorry!"

Surfacing, Charlotte shook her head and looked at Derek. "Are you okay? Derek, are you okay?"

"I'm going to kill your cousin," Derek told her, wishing he could move.

"It's fine Stiles, he's okay," Charlotte said, letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding in. "Where did it go?"

Just as she asked, they heard it screech again and Stiles quickly scrambled to call Scott. "He sounds angry."

"Can you get me out of here before I drown?" Derek asked Charlotte.

Charlotte laughed a little as she treaded water and held Derek up. "Please, I would never let you drown and you know that."

"I'm still paralyzed from the neck down, in EIGHT FEET OF WATER!" Derek protested.

"How is it that you're dating Charlotte when she's a ray of sunshine?" Stiles asked him, getting Scott's answering machine. "Scott! We need you at the pool in the school, now! That thing is here!"

They looked to see the creature, slowly circling the pool, Stiles freaking out and getting in as well, Charlotte moving her face a little as he splashed her, complaining about water in her eyes. Stiles apologized quickly and then helped her to hold Derek up, the creature going to get in the water and then he hissed and moved away. It seemed that maybe it couldn't swim, so staying in the pool meant that they were going to be safe. Just as long as the creature didn't move to kill Erica or Eric, Charlotte was even happy to stay in the pool with her paralyzed mate.

"Charlotte?" Caroline asked as she and Phasmi hurried to the pool.

Phasmi put her arm out. "Oh! Hello there, Ugly."

"Keep your distance! Derek got paralyzed!" Charlotte warned them.

"Eric and Erica are knocked out," Stiles added, Derek growling.

Phasmi laughed a little bit. "Good job, Derek,"

"I was protecting your sister and Bean Pole over here!" Derek protested, shaking his head as Charlotte moved to push Derek fully into Stiles. "NO! You are _not_ going to leave me here with him!"

"Relax, he won't let you drown either," Charlotte said, kissing him swiftly. "I have to protect our pack."

Stiles scrunched up his nose. "I'll think about letting him drown."

"I'll bite you," Charlotte told him seriously.

Even though it sounded truthful, Charlotte would never bite him and Stiles knew that, smiling at her as he looked up to see Caroline and Phasmi picking up some items to use as weapons, relying on their speed as they fully wolfed out. Stiles wanted to help Caroline, but Charlotte was the most prepped as he watched as a heavy object was thrown at the creature by Phasmi, Stiles cheering on his cousin as Caroline did the same thing, Charlotte climbing out of the pool and fully wolfing out as well, red eyes glowing. If it meant sacrificing herself then so be it, her going for it as Phasmi and Caroline kept themselves close to each other and yet far enough away to keep the creature confused. Together they were a rather ingenious tag team and team and when the creature gripped Charlotte's ankle with its tail and threw her, Derek cried out.

She hit a mirror on the wall rather hard, it shattering, making her get up and growl, Phasmi picking up a large piece of the broken glass and holding it up, ready to slice the thing if it got close to her sister. Caroline moved toward Eric and Erica to check their status, smiling as they stirred, the creature moving toward Phasmi and Charlotte. It looked at the piece of glass in Phasmi's hand and seemed rather confused and surprised, darting off just as Scott got there and realized that his help wasn't actually needed. When it left, Charlotte made her way over to Derek and checked him for injuries, smiling as he told her he was starting to regain feeling in his limbs and Charlotte nodded, looking over at Eric and Erica who were getting up.

"I need to make a call," Charlotte said suddenly, smiling at Phasmi as she handed her, her phone she had dropped on the ground. "Just to double check…"

Derek nodded as he saw her speed dial her mother, all of them heading out of the school and regrouping outside, Charlotte taking a deep breath. Her mother had the bestiary and they talked a little bit, Charlotte going over to them, and taking Derek's hand. He nodded at her because he knew that their guesses had been justified and she wanted to be the one to tell everyone because they were more likely to listen to her: she was good cop after all.

"It's a Kanima," Charlotte explained, swallowing. "When we saw it look at the mirror piece and not know who or what it was…Derek and I were pretty sure. I called my mother and she has Gerard's bestiary."

Scott looked at her. "Oh…well, I forget that your mother and Chris went way back and she wants to help us all. So…what exactly is it?"

"It's a shape shifter, but it's not…it's not right," Derek told them.

"It's like an abomination," Stiles said, Derek and Charlotte nodding.

They all shared looks and then as Derek and Charlotte turned to walk away, Scott spoke up and it made Charlotte turn around because what he was saying made some sense. At the same time, after what Gerard had done, she knew that there was no way that she could think like Scott was thinking and it bothered her because she wanted to be the good cop here or the mother bear but she couldn't. Not everyone could get along here even if they tried.

"We have to work together on this! Maybe even involve the Argents!" Scott told them.

Derek took a couple of steps toward him. "You trust them?!"

"Nobody trusts anyone!" Scott said angrily. "That's the problem! While we're here arguing about whose on what side there's something scarier, stronger and faster than any of us and its killing people! And we still don't know anything about it!"

"We will when my mother is finished looking over the bestiary!" Charlotte cut in, recognizing the look on Derek's face. "Gerard killed Darren today to get to me, so I don't trust him. He is going after my pack, a pack, I will remind you, Scott, that has your _sister_ in it. So when I have news about our enemy, I will let you know, but I am _not_ involving the Argents in any part of this. Right now, we are all a target and I will not be the reason that anyone is killed!"

"I know one thing," Derek said as he took Charlotte's hand, seeing tears come to her eyes at the mention of Darren, "when I find it…I'm going to kill it."


	26. The Eye of the Storm

Melody knew that her bestiary was on its way and went to give Chris, Gerard's back, Chris upset that Melody had swiped it, but he understood. She was trying to protect her children the same way that he was trying to protect Allison and he just let Melody walk away because deep down he couldn't bear to have anything happen to her. Melody still meant so much to him and even though Charlotte had done some questionable things, she was still Melody's daughter, as was Phasmi and Chris wanted to protect them from his revenge driven father.

Gerard wasn't the only revenge driven father, however.

Matthew Graceland had left for many reasons, but all three Graceland women knew that part of it was because Charlotte had become an Alpha even when Matthew had told her not to. She was so headstrong like he was and she wanted to be an Alpha, so she and Derek had struck up a plan to go and make her one, and even the Derek thing had made him testy. He didn't want the two together and yet they'd done it anyway and while part of him understood as he and Melody had struck something up, his daughter had a way of making her point without him.

_"Lotte, you're not ready for this anymore than Vicky is," Matthew tried to explain to his daughter, shaking his head. "You're a Beta—enjoy it while it lasts."_

_Charlotte sighed loudly. "Dad, I'm doing what I was born to do."_

_"What you were born to do? You were born to be a Beta," Matthew told her shaking his head. "You were born into the life of a wolf, but to throw it all away? You were throwing it away for Derek and you're still throwing it away."_

_"Why does every conversation we have end up being about how Derek Hale is bad news?" Charlotte asked as she stood up. "Dad, I'm going to become an Alpha. I am an adult and more than anything else, I want to be an Alpha. I want to have my own pack, and I want to be with Derek."_

_Matthew made a face and then rubbed his temples, speaking up to tell his daughter that she was wrong, which just made her storm out of the room and he realized then and there that this was the last time Charlotte would come to him for **anything**._

Matthew's history with the girls was going to make all of this really hard, especially with Derek frequenting the house—he'd be around more now that he and Charlotte had finally told each other how they felt. Melody was happy about it even though she was worried about their mate bond that they didn't even understand between them, but Matthew was bound to pick a fight with his daughter the moment that he arrived with the bestiary. The biggest problem? Melody was pretty sure that once he got there, Matthew was going to find a reason to stay for one reason or another.

xx

"I'm trying to make this all up to you," Isaac explained as he lit a candle.

Phasmi smiled a little and shrugged. "Make what up to me?"

"Yelling at you about not telling me about all of the werewolf stuff…" Isaac told her. "I mean, you were just trying to protect me."

"Of course I was, but I was still lying," Phasmi responded as she scooted closer to him. "You had every right to be mad that you learned about me because Derek turned you into a werewolf and not because _I_ told you about it."

Isaac nodded slowly and handed her a cup of cocoa. "I just want you to know that I'm not mad anymore. I also don't know how this being in different packs thing works."

"Derek and Charlotte aren't the people to look to either," Phasmi said chuckling a bit. "Though, if my father knew about you, he'd tell you to leave me alone too."

Phasmi didn't want to admit it, but her father had a habit of making them all feel like failures when it came to…well, anything. Matthew hadn't wanted Charlotte with a Hale even though there had always been jokes made about how Charlotte and Derek would someday fall in love, get married and have puppies. The thing was, Derek was also a wolf and wolves wanted to roam and reach their potential strength, so Matthew was more than against it. He'd already lost his eldest daughter from his family pack and then he had lost Phasmi because she wanted to be with Charlotte instead of with him…he wasn't going to like Isaac.

"I was kind of hoping that your parents would like me," Isaac found himself saying.

Phasmi smiled and stroked his cheek. "My mother likes you, and that's all that matters to me."

"What exactly…never mind…" Isaac said shaking his head, seeing the look on Phasmi's face as he started to ask her about her father. "We don't have to talk about it."

"My father left us alone because it was more important to have his control than it was to support Charlotte following her dreams of being an Alpha," Phasmi explained as her anger noticeably began to rise. "That is part of why I asked her if I could be part of _her_ pack instead. It further dismantled my father's precious dream that was more important to him than his own children. I don't give a rat's ass what my father thinks, Isaac."

Isaac nodded and kissed her suddenly, trying to let her know what was going on with her was something that he would help her with. No matter what happened, he was there for her and he wanted to be with her and she smiled, kissing him back, wrapping her arms around his neck and slipping her fingers into his hair to keep him close. All that did was enamor her to him more and he nuzzled her tenderly with his nose because he wanted her to know that he enjoyed being affectionate with her even though he knew she was moving slowly with him because she was older than him, and much older than him than Charlotte was older than Derek.

"Your father is an idiot to give you guys up—your mother included," Isaac told her as Phasmi pulled back a little to stroke his hair and look him in the eye.

Phasmi smiled and kissed his nose. "It's okay…you and I are both well versed with shitty dads."

"Sadly, that's true," Isaac agreed, kissing her again. "It's a good thing I have you and the pack."

"Yeah, but mostly me," Phasmi teased as she kissed him again, both of them continuing until Boyd and Erica showed up at the abandoned place looking for Derek and Phasmi felt like she should probably check in on Eric.

xx

"Just stop it!" Charlotte yelled at Derek, growling. "Look, I need to mobilize against Gerard."

Derek shook his head and followed her down the hallway in her house. "No, what you need to do is calm down and help me with the Kanima situation."

"I can deal with that too," Charlotte told him shaking her head. "I've got all of this under control."

"You need to let me help you!" Derek exclaimed angrily. "At least let me deal with narrowing down who the Kanima is! This all has to do with something else and you _know_ it!"

Charlotte honestly couldn't deny that because she knew that she was partially pushing Derek away because she was afraid that if Liam tried something now that Darren was gone, Derek would take off. He wouldn't, but Charlotte had been afraid of that since she had come back and now her heart was completely in this and Derek knew it and it made it so hard for her to fully be in this. She was scared that Derek was break her heart again and Derek knew that…Derek had been afraid of this since they had exchanged the 'I love you's.

"I just want to handle it," Charlotte lied, sighing when Derek took her hand, making her turn to face him. "What do you want me to say, Derek?"

Derek took a deep breath. "I'm not going anywhere, Charlee. Tell me about after I left—I need you to get mad at me."

"Oh, no," Charlotte said trying to move away from him. "We are _not_ talking about that. It's in the past where it needs to stay."

"It's right here preventing our present from becoming a future," Derek told her and she knew he was right. "So tell me, because I don't like there being a version of us that lies to each other."

Charlotte agreed with him and wanted more than anything to get it off of her chest, but she didn't want to make Derek run either. Her days after the pack disbanded were days she didn't like to think about, partially because her father had basically rubbed it in her face from afar and she'd had to go back to living with her mother and while that wasn't _bad_ , it was a change and she'd felt betrayed. She was mad at Derek from that time forward and part of her was still hurt by it and it was partially why she wanted control…the other part was she was just bad at giving up control.

"You abandoned me," Charlotte told him, taking a deep breath. "Liam and Darren left and I was broken and I felt like a failure and then _you_ , of _all_ people, left me. You gave me a really lame excuse and you took off and I never heard from you again—not until you came here that night and then said it was 'just sex', which only proved to piss me off more. I mean, I have _never_ given up on you, have I?" Charlotte asked him, nodding as he shook his head. "Exactly…but you gave up on me. Why? Why'd you do it?"

Derek took a deep breath. "You deserved someone better than me, Charlee. You deserved someone who wouldn't drive off your pack…someone who wasn't afraid to tell you that they were in love with you—that they _trusted_ you, more than absolutely anyone. I wasn't that guy for you and I was scared. It's not an excuse and I don't want you to forgive me for it, but that's what happened. I wasn't good enough. I wasn't what you wanted…I was afraid of letting you down."

"Leaving me let me down," Charlotte admitted, smiling a little and walking up to him. "You were also what I wanted, so taking off on me made me feel like more of a failure. If I couldn't keep _you_ , then what was the point? You were my mate and you were my future and you took that all away from me."

"I'm not any better now," Derek sighed, stroking her hair. "I mean, I'm just as bad as I used to be."

"You and I _both_ have some growing to do, but I mean…I love you," Charlotte told him, smiling because she'd said it again. "The scary part of saying it out loud is behind us now, Derek. We just need to keep being open and honest like this."

Derek nodded, kissing Charlotte tenderly and then nipping at her bottom lip. "I love you too…"

He knew _exactly_ how his words would hit with her and he chuckled as she kissed him again, letting her nails rake up and down along his sides, making him growl happily. Charlotte liked that growl, biting his bottom lip and tugging on it, their eyes meeting and they both knew _exactly_ what was going to happen next, Charlotte wiggling her eyebrows. A laugh came from Derek then, warming Charlotte's insides because she'd done that just now—she'd made Derek Hale happy and he wasn't afraid to show it to her here in her room where it was just the two of them.

"You know what would make your Alpha very happy?" Charlotte asked him.

Derek smirked at the role playing tone in her voice. "What will make my Alpha happy?"

"Your pants coming off now," Charlotte whispered, undoing his belt, red eyes flashing a moment. "I expect claw marks, Hale."

He smiled, lifting up the bottom of her shirt and pulling it off over her head as she lifted her arms up, tossing it aside and then pulling off his shirt as Charlotte pushed his jeans down, mouth moving to his abs as he stepped out of his pants, his fingers tangling in her hair. She wanted to be the Alpha right now. Charlotte wanted to be the one in charge and while Derek was enjoying the power struggle more now that he was an Alpha as well, he didn't mind letting Charlotte do what she wanted because she was right—the hard part of saying that they loved each other was now out in the open, and besides, he enjoyed their new sexual relationship as much as she did. Derek was willing to let some control slide for now, but once they left this room, reality would surface and he would control this Kanima search…he had to prove to Charlotte and to himself that he was every bit the Alpha he wanted to be.

"As my Alpha commands," Derek growled before his lips crashed into hers. "I'll hold nothing back."

xx

Scott was feeling a bit weird about all of this.

He was sitting around with his sister waiting for Artemis and Stiles to show up because their plans to make each other talk to Artemis and Stiles had backfired and now they were involved in a double date against their wills. Caroline had wanted Scott to talk to Artemis because it was obvious that she had a thing for him, and Scott had wanted Stiles and Caroline to talk to each other because there was definitely something up with Caroline. She loved Stiles too and she knew that even though she wasn't about to say it, and the full moon made her a little crazy with her feelings for him and she'd never hurt him, she was just looking for excuses to protect her heart.

Now, the McCalls were being dragged into a double date because Stiles didn't want to sit around talking to Caroline about things that might make their relationship take steps backward and Artemis was feeling a little awkward. She certainly hadn't come over to the McCall house looking for a date and now they were all at a restaurant and Stiles was making jokes and looking over a menu and she felt out of place. Besides, Scott looked nervous and that was a bad sign…she didn't want him to be here because he felt obligated or pressured—mostly because she had a crush on him.

In fact Artemis wasn't going to deny that she was attracted to Scott, but he was a werewolf and that meant that he was a little dangerous, didn't it? Regardless of her research, she didn't know as much about werewolves as she would like and while Scott and Caroline seemed in control, it was hard to figure out exactly if they were. Caroline had told her about anchors and assured her that she and Scott had been doing rather well during the moons, so Artemis had to take it at face value and she certainly _wanted_ to believe them.

"You don't _have_ to be here," Artemis whispered to Scott as Stiles kissed Caroline on their side of the booth. "I mean…we could take off and you can go do something that you actually want to do."

Scott blushed and smiled at her. "It's not you, you know."

"I never said it was," Artemis replied flushing crimson. "I just think this is awkward and we're clearly not dating and those two are clearly making out."

"We can also hear you," Stiles told them as he kissed Caroline.

Caroline sighed though and pushed on him, Stiles making a face and then keeping his hands to himself as Caroline looked over the menu. She was still getting used to the fact that she and Stiles were out in public now and she wasn't quite sure how to handle it—she and Stiles had done so well for a long while in secret and then it had all gone poorly of course and now…now her mother wondered how she didn't figure it out sooner. She'd had an idea, but Melissa McCall was also rather busy supporting her children and she needed to focus on bills even though now she was quite aware that her daughter was in love with Stiles Stilinski and that meant a lot of things.

Actually, Caroline had tried to talk to her mother about the fact that Stiles had told her that he loved her, but she knew her mother would try to get her to say it back—everyone would—and Caroline knew she needed to, but the words wouldn't come out. She was so terrified that Stiles was going to change his mind no matter how much she knew deep, deep down that Stiles was here for her and he always would be here for her. Now that they were an official couple and everyone knew, they'd start asking her questions like if they were in love and how it felt to be in love and she just couldn't answer them no matter how much she wanted to.

"Are we all still hunting for a…Kanima?" Artemis asked, wanting to know she had gotten the name correct and nodded when Stiles did.

Scott took a deep breath. "I have a feeling that Derek's on a man hunt."

"Well, after Gerard killed Darren and basically marked Charlotte's pack, he's going to do everything he can to protect her one way or another," Stiles admitted nodding. "I hate admitting it, but it's kind of a really good thing for him to do. The whole pack is still good too, right Care?"

"I think that I should text Eric," Caroline said as she nodded, wanting to double check that exact thing.

Eric was still upset about the fact that he had had to run off on Lydia and he wanted to make it up to her more than anything. He'd texted her, sent her flowers—even shown up at her house and had her shut the door in his face because Lydia Martin, as brilliant as she was, had a very skewed view of what life was outside of the hierarchy of High School. The young wolf wasn't letting that deter him, however, and as Lydia came out with a heavy sigh this next time, he went for it, kissing her.

At first Lydia responded, kissing him back, but then it was quite obvious that she wanted Eric to understand that this was something that you just didn't do with her, and she pulled back, slapping his face hard. Eric let out a surprised noise when her palm made contact with his cheek and then he rubbed his jaw as Lydia gave him that smug look that made him want to yell at her and make-out with her all at the same time. This was certainly going to be a _lot_ harder than it looked and Eric was surer than ever that he was ready for the challenge.

"Women do not like being manhandled," Lydia told Eric simply, looking him in the eye. "Is there anything else that you wanted?"

Eric smirked and nodded. "I'd like to make a deal with you."

"What kind of deal?" Lydia asked him, raising her eyebrows.

"The kind of deal that benefits both of us," Eric responded, his phone going off to signal he had a text message, Lydia rolling her eyes and turning to go back inside as Eric got his phone out of his pocket.

"I don't see why I'd want to strike a deal with you," Lydia told him, opening up her front door.

Eric nodded slowly. "Because I know you got bitten, I know you're seeing things you can't understand, and I think you're brilliant and beautiful."

Lydia paused for a moment because while she'd told him she was seeing things…she'd never once told him she had hallucinated Peter Hale biting her.

xx

Charlotte smiled at Derek as they lay there, running her fingertips along some of her claw marks on his chest as she contemplated this whole marking as a mate thing. She desperately wanted to be Derek's mate again, especially now that she knew that he really did love her, but she was worried about what it would do to them when they were so good at not really talking things out. They hid from each other all the time and it was hard for her to imagine them benefitting from the mark right now, so Derek was letting _her_ make the move with it and she was certainly tempted.

"Say it again," she said gently as she traced a heart on his sternum, wanting to hear him tell her that he loved her again.

Derek chuckled and shook his head. "No."

"You won't even humor your mate?" Charlotte asked him, pouting at him.

"Nope," Derek told her, kissing her pouting lips and moaning against them as she kissed him passionately, making him want to just tell her how he felt over and over again.

She had that kind of affect on him, always wanting to give Charlotte everything that she wanted even when he didn't want it. Hell, it had always been about her and after that talk, he felt like the two of them were closer than ever and he was more than willing to remark her and take on whatever that bond had in store for two Alphas. He was even kind of wondering if one day maybe, he and Charlotte would do as both of their parents had done before them and settle down to get married and have some kids of their own. Not now and not soon…but someday.

"Thank you for forcing me to talk to you about it all," Charlotte said as she pulled back and they just lay there on their sides touching, Charlotte slipping her arm over him and pulling him closer.

The skin on skin contact was really making them happy, Charlotte feeling peaceful for the first time since she had found Darren's body cleaved in two. She knew she needed to get to Liam, but Liam knew and wanted his space and she certainly didn't want to go looking for him and deal with what it was that she would have to deal with. It made her a bad Alpha and yet she knew that Liam was coming back to her because he'd texted her and right now she had to figure out how she was going to handle this. Everyone was already kind of jumpy because Darren was dead and at the hands of Gerard.

No one wanted to admit that the Argents were such a threat, but even though they could trust Allison, she was easily swayed by her parents if she needed to be. Charlotte was willing to keep her in the loop until it seemed that she was being compromised, and since that had yet to happen because of Allison's love for Scott, Charlotte was happy to have the help. After all, she'd killed Allison's aunt in front of her and she felt like she owed Allison quite a lot…she also still wished that Allison hadn't seen that because Charlotte killing was something that didn't happen often but when it did, she was an animal and it was a rather terrifying sight.

"I think that you needed to get it off of your chest and I needed you to be mad at me for it," Derek admitted slowly as he stroked her hair. "You and I both know that until you got it off of your chest, you would be holding it in like a grudge."

Charlotte nodded slowly in agreement. "I know…I just didn't expect it, is all. You and I avoid everything and that's kind of what I've gotten used to. It needs to change though."

"Well, we can't change overnight, but I agree—I don't like feeling separated from you," Derek explained, kissing Charlotte gently when she smiled at him.

All this closeness with him in the aftermath of Darren's murder was making her feel so much better about everything and Derek was certainly proving himself to her. So, she kept his body close and kissed him lovingly, enjoying the sensation of his heartbeat beating in time with hers against her chest and his fingers gliding through her hair, until the whole moment was ruined. Charlotte's eyes popped open and she sat up rather abruptly, holding the sheets to her like she needed to be covered, which was weird because with Derek she'd never really felt the need to hide much.

"Charlee, what's wrong?" Derek asked, running his fingers along her back as she shook her head, not at him but at the scent she had caught onto.

"It's…" she looked at him and sighed. "Derek, it's my father…"

**Author's Note:**

> **Feedback is Always Appreciated!**


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